Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly growing increasingly confident of winning the race to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, despite interest from Chelsea.
The 2022-23 Serie A champions managed to fend off interest in the Nigeria international last year after he took hope the top-flight Golden Boot with a terrific 26 goals in 32 games en route to the title.
Napoli also tied Osimhen down to a new contract until 2026, although it was believed that the renewal was simply to protect his value rather than an indication of his long-term future.
President Aurelio de Laurentiis has already conceded that Osimhen will be leaving the club this summer, but the Partenopei inserted a release clause thought to be worth around £113m into his new deal last year.
However, the Napoli chief has now relented on his asking price and is instead happy to accept an offer of around €100m (£84.1m), although Chelsea - one of his main suitors - have still baulked at that value.
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PSG 'given green light' to sign Osimhen
The same cannot be said of PSG, however, as journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that the French champions have now been given the green light from the former Lille man to accelerate their pursuit.
The two parties are now expected to thrash out the contract agreement, which should not take too long to finalise, although Les Parisiens are still yet to agree on a final fee with their Italian counterparts.
Romano adds that negotiations between the two clubs will not be "easy", although PSG are still optimistic of finding common ground and adding Osimhen to their ranks as a replacement for Kylian Mbappe.
The 25-year-old previously rose to prominence in Ligue 1 with Lille, who sold him to Napoli for €77.5m (£65.2m) in the summer of 2020, since when he has come up with 76 goals and 18 assists in 133 games for his current club.
While Chelsea have therefore suffered another setback in their pursuit of a new high-profile number nine, PSG's move for Osimhen could actually help the Blues shift one of their unwanted names.
Napoli 'to move' for Romelu Lukaku as Osimhen successor
![Belgium's Romelu Lukaku reacts in June 2024 [IMAGO]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/25/romelu-lukaku.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Belgium's Romelu Lukaku reacts in June 2024 [IMAGO]")
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Romano adds that if Osimhen does indeed jump ship and join PSG, Napoli will step up their interest in Chelsea wantaway Romelu Lukaku, whom Partenopei boss Antonio Conte is keen to reunite with.
The pair forged an incredibly successful relationship at Inter Milan, achieving 2020-21 Serie A glory together before going their separate ways, as Chelsea paid £97.5m to bring Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge.
However, the Belgium international has failed to rediscover his golden Serie A streak in the Premier League, and Chelsea are now keen to rid themselves of him permanently following his Roma loan.
The Blues are prepared to suffer a huge financial loss on the former Manchester United man, whom they are apparently happy to sell for around £37.5m, as he is now in the last two years of his contract.
Lukaku did not do his transfer value any favours at Euro 2024 either, failing to find the back of the net once in four matches as Belgium suffered a last-16 defeat to France.
Ben Knapton
