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Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has encouraged the Blues to sign Victor Osimhen, with Mauricio Pochettino said to be in the market for another striker. The 24-year-old striker was heavily linked with an exit from Napoli in the summer transfer window but a move failed to materialise.

football.london understands that Chelsea were eager to sign Osimhen but, with the Italian giants determined to hold onto their star man, the Blues signed Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal instead. It's believed that the Blues viewed the Nigeria international as somebody who could have transformed the club's misfortunes in front of goal but, without Champions League qualification, any bid to sign him proved difficult.

Osimhen scored 26 goals for Napoli in their title-winning Serie A campaign last season, and he appears to have picked up from where he left off. The Nigerian has featured eight times for Rudi Garcia's side so far this term, finding the net six times.

As Osimhen continues to establish himself as one of the world's top strikers, Mikel has ushered his fellow countryman in the direction of Stamford Bridge. Speaking on his podcast, The Obi One Podcast, the former Chelsea midfielder said: "I hope he comes to Chelsea. From the noises that I hear, he is a big United [fan], I think probably. I hope he comes to Chelsea."

The Napoli talisman currently faces an uncertain future at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after the club posted a controversial video on social media which appeared to mock him. However, despite reports linking Osimhen with an exit, the club have insisted that 'everyone is happy'.

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Following Napoli's game against Udinese at the end of last month, Garcia said: "I have had a very good rapport with Victor since the moment I arrived. I am happy because he scored a goal and centre-forwards always want to score goals. In Bologna we were all frustrated at not winning and he was even more after missing a penalty, so that can happen. We cleared the air, it all went back to normal."

Then, after Napoli's 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis doubled down and claimed that Osimhen's future is 'not up for discussion'. Speaking to Spanish publication El Chiringuito, as quoted by Goal, he said: "Victor is a player who makes a team on his own, it's not up for discussion. There is no problem with the renewal, everyone in Napoli is happy."

If Todd Boehly managed to secure Osimhen's signature then he would be arming Mauricio Pochettino with the perfect strike partner for Christopher Nkunku. The France international hit the ground running at Chelsea in pre-season before sustaining a knee injury, which could keep him out until the New Year.

What better way to welcome Nkunku back from the treatment room then to sign Osimhen in January, ready and raring to go...

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