Uses Hakim Ziyech as major  trump card to force Napoli’s hands in the move for the Nigeria forward

By Ed Emeanua

Chelsea appears set to topple Manchester United in the chase of wantaway Napoli forward Victor Osimhen, as Gli Azzurri (The Blues)  interest to sign Hakim Ziyech could now be used to push across the transfer to Stanford Bridge, the Daily Mirror reports.

The Blues plans to shed close to 10 players this summer and have already signaled that Morocco winger Ziyech is also up for sale. Premier League rivals Chelsea and Man United are now set to for a major head-to-head battle to sign the Nigeria international this summer, reports Metro News UK.

The 30-year-old thrived in four glorious terms at Ajax before a £33m transfer brought him to Stamford Bridge in 2020 but has failed to match his value in England.

Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter was hellbent on dispatching Ziyech on loan to Ligue 1 last January, however, a deadline-day transfer to Paris Saint-Germain was derailed by paperwork log jams.

Chelsea feels Osimhen could be the solution for their poor goals hurl, having depended on Kai Havertz for much of the season following Romelu Lukaku’s return to Italy on loan in 2022.

The 24-year-old Osimhen is having a dream season in Naples, scoring 26 times in 31 appearances to propel Luciano Spalletti’s to a sumptuous 14 points lead ahead of all Serie A title contenders.

Chelsea contracted former skipper of Arsenal Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on deadline-day but his west London sojourn has been calamitous and all parties cannot wait to severe the knots at the end of the season.

However, Chelsea are up for fierce challenge from Manchester United in the sprint to sign Osimhen, with United’s manager, Erik ten Hag, said to be very focus driven to pluck the goalscorer over to Old Trafford.

United are knee-deep in the market melee for a new striker having let go Cristiano Ronaldo earlier in the season and playing Burnley loan acquisition Wout Weghorst as a top 9 in the second-half of the current season.

Chelsea are getting set for a summer off-loading of redundant players mainly to recover some of the £600m owner, Todd Boehly, has invested on new deals, but equally due to the agreement within the club that several players on the club’s payroll has made it untenable for the side to flourish this term.

The west London club have dipped into the tail-end of the English League table and were eliminated from the Champions League last week by Real Madrid.

On the other hand, Osimhen has been one of the in-form players in the world this term, though his efforts could not deter Napoli from also getting eliminated from the Champions League by Serie A rivals AC Milan.

Given the huge interest in Osimhen, it is believed that Napoli will want a fee of more than £100m to part ways with the striker this summer.