Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis could be prepared to sell Chelsea target Victor Osimhen for €120m (£104.5m), according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

Writing in his Daily Briefing column for Caught Offside, Jacobs suggested that a summer transfer is more likely but a deal similar to how the Blues secured the services of Christopher Nkunku is possible:

“Osimhen is undoubtedly an option, and he’ll be (a least a bit) cheaper next summer compared to last. This could also present a scenario where, as with Christopher Nkunku, Chelsea try to pre-sign Osimhen in January for the summer in order to jump ahead of the market.”

“But right now nothing is advanced because all interested clubs are simply trying to understand what Aurelio De Laurentiis will sell for since last summer he simply wouldn’t engage for anything under €150m. Now he may accept €120m.”

Will Chelsea be patient enough to wait until next summer?

A lot of the reporting surrounding the Blues’ attempts to sign a new No.9 has emphasised that the London club would prefer to bring someone in during the January transfer window.

That would probably rule out a move for Osimhen, and make a player like Brentford’s Ivan Toney the favourite. However, the Napoli player’s lower price tag would present a dilemma.

If Toney’s valuation is £80m as some claim, Osimhen would only cost £25m more. Considering the Nigerian international is younger, it could sway things in his favour but it would require Chelsea to wait until the end of the season.

How would Chelsea fund a move for Osimhen?

After spending over £1bn on new signings since the start of last season, the Blues don’t exactly have much room to manoeuvre in terms of Financial Fair Play. Player sales will be needed to finance any bid for Osimhen.

One of the players who could leave is Armando Broja. The Albanian would be demoted to third-choice if Osimhen were to be signed so his departure from Stamford Bridge could be considered.