Chelsea are exploring a move for Napoli and Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen (Picture: Getty)
William Gallas has backed Chelsea to win the race for Victor Osimhen in the summer transfer window, while likening the Napoli striker to Didier Drogba.
Osimhen has established himself as one of the hottest properties in European football after steering Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years last season, scoring 26 goals in 32 games for the champions.
This term, the 25-year-old has picked up where he left off, netting seven times in 13 appearances in the Italian top flight, and Europe’s elite are believed to be queueing up for his signature.
Premier League rivals Chelsea and Arsenal were both credited with a strong interest throughout the January transfer window, though neither club strengthened up front before the deadline.
However, Napoli are expecting a bidding war for their prized possession at the end of the campaign and Osimhen said he ‘already knew his next step’ when quizzed on the incessant speculation over his future last month.
Recent reports indicated Osimhen had his heart set on joining Chelsea, but the Blues may struggle to pay the Nigerian’s £111million release clause in full while staying on the right side of financial fair play regulations.
Speaking to Genting Casino, ex-Chelsea and France defender Gallas said he was confident Osimhen would ‘do a lot of damage in the Premier League’ should he complete a summer move to Stamford Bridge.
Gallas is confident Chelsea will win the race for Osimhen’s signature (Picture: Getty)
‘I think they will sign Victor Osimhen in the summer,’ Gallas stated.
‘I don’t know Victor that well as a person but he’s similar to Drogba. Didier was so strong but with Osimhen, he is also very quick.
‘I’m sure he’ll do a lot of damage in the Premier League.’
Osimhen was compared to Drogba by ex-Chelsea defender Gallas (Picture: Getty)
According to Gallas, the west London giants may have to consider cashing in on some of Mauricio Pochettino’s first-team stars if they are to avoid being stung by FFP.
‘Chelsea have so many players and that is a problem. They need to sell players because it’s a mess at Chelsea at the moment,’ he added.
‘I don’t know a lot about their financial situation but they need to figure out which players should stay and which players should leave.
‘In the Premier League, some clubs loan in players to replace players they have sold for more money but when you look at the situation with Enzo [Fernandez] and [Moises] Caicedo, they bought them for £100m, how much can they sell them for? Not much!’
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With Tottenham reportedly exploring a move for Conor Gallagher, Gallas hopes to see the England midfielder ‘fight for his place’ after an impressive start to the season.
‘Gallagher is a Chelsea boy so I don’t think there’s any way he’ll go to Tottenham,’ he went on.
‘If he’s from Chelsea’s academy, he’ll want to stay and fight for his place at Chelsea.’
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