Report: Chelsea know European giants are leading the race for £84m player, they have two alternatives

The Blues were pretty light up front last season, finishing the campaign with Nicolas Jackson as the only natural No.9 in their squad, while Luis Enrique’s side have just lost Kylian Mbappe.

There is an expectation that the two clubs will try to do something in the transfer market, with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres both being linked to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are eyeing Gyokeres after a season where the 26-year-old managed to score 43 goals.

Chelsea accept PSG are the frontrunners for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen

Osimhen was not as prolific as Gyokeres was last term, but the Nigerian still has a very good goal record.

For example, back in the 2022/23 season, Osimhen netted 31 times in 39 appearances. It is no surprise, then, that Chelsea and PSG are both interested in him.

However, according to CaughtOffside, Chelsea are aware that the Ligue 1 outfit are the ones who are currently leading the race for him.

If they miss out on Osimhen, though, it looks like Chelsea and Enzo Maresca have other options. The same outlet claims that the Blues have identified Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi and Hoffenheim’s Maximilian Beier as alternatives to the 25-year-old.

Adeyemi isn’t ruling out leaving Dortmund this summer amid interest from Chelsea.

Karim Adeyemi and Maximilian Beier underwhelming alternatives

Napoli’s talisman is going to cost a lot of money. Napoli could offload Osimhen for €100m (£84.3m), which is less than his release clause, but that is still a huge number.

Given that and PSG’s interest, it is only normal for Chelsea to be looking at other names like Adeyemi and Beier. However, compared to Osimhen, they are quite underwhelming ones.

Adeyemi barely played as a striker last season, mostly operating on the left flank at Dortmund, while Beier is not exactly a proven forward yet at 21.

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