John Obi Mikel has revealed that Victor Osimhen is still holding out for a move to Chelsea and claims a transfer could be completed quickly in the summer transfer window.
Chelsea were in talks to sign Osimhen in the closing stages of the transfer window last summer but were unable to agree a deal with Napoli for the striker.
Osimhen ended up joining Galatasaray on loan for the season and the 26-year-old has thrived in Turkey, scoring 28 goals in 32 appearances so far.
Chelsea remain in the market for a new striker this summer and are considering Liam Delap, who has a £30 million relegation release clause in his deal with Ipswich Town.
But Mikel, who took part in negotiations between Chelsea and Osimhen last summer, says the Nigeria international remains keen on a switch to Stamford Bridge.
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‘He has options, even now when I talk to him he has options, loads of options,’ Mikel told The Obi One Podcast.
‘For me, it’s going be really sad if we don’t get a player who supported the club a kid growing up and wants to play for us, wants to play this football club.’
When asked if he feels Osimhen will ultimately miss out on a move to Chelsea, Mikel replied: ‘Listen, I hope it happens because I can see great things happening.
‘I can see a great partnership happening, I can see a player coming in and becoming a massive legend for this football club.
‘Make no mistake, if Victor Osimhen comes to Chelsea he will want to break records, he will want to put himself top, top [up] there.
‘His idol is [Didier] Drogba, he will want to go after his record, he will want to score goals, win us trophies, get us back to the top. That would be his mission.
‘His hunger when he plays, the ambition when he plays is something that few players have, the arrogance he has, the feistiness he has that you need to be able to succeed in the Premier League as a top striker. So for me I can see a great partnership happening.
‘I’ve said what I have to say, I’ve done my part, if the club chose not to pursue it… fair enough.
‘The player has so many options, good luck to him, good luck to Chelsea, if it doesn’t happen it doesn’t happen.
‘But the good thing about it is we know exactly where we stopped [during negotiations last summer], there’s not much in it.
‘We can pick it back up, get the player straight in the door. Get him in, because we know where we’ve stopped.’
Osimhen also rejected a lucrative offer to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli, who ended up signing Ivan Toney from Brentford.
When asked about the prospect of Osimhen moving to Saudi Arabia, Mikel replied: ‘I hope he doesn’t go there.
‘That was my fight, that was my conversation with him in the summer, I told the kid, ‘don’t go’. Saudi is always going to be there, they don’t have the World Cup until 2034, they will still be spending.
‘Come here, come to us [Chelsea], they [Saudi Arabia] will still be spending, come to us for three or four seasons.
‘And he listened, but how long are you going to continue to say no to such huge, huge money. At some point your head gets turned. You have family members talking to you, parents talking to you, it’s generational money. You can’t keep putting it off, at some point your head is going to get turned.’
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