Chelsea have been credited with an interest in an exciting striker, and a reliable journalist has revealed that chiefs are working to sign him instead of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.

Victor Osimhen transfer update

Osimhen was the subject of a social media scandal in recent weeks which saw his club post a public video of him missing a penalty, with his agent, Roberto Calenda, threatening to take legal action for the humiliation of his client. However, Aurelio de Laurentiis, who is the president of the Serie A side, has since confirmed that his prized asset is considering signing a new long-term contract despite being linked with an exit to join Mauricio Pochettino’s outfit, as per the same outlet, meaning that the boss will have to divert his attention elsewhere.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Todd Boehly has made it his priority to sign a new striker next year and the owner has set his sights on Brentford’s Ivan Toney who, even though he won’t be able to return to domestic action from his ban until January, is attracting significant interest from rivals in the Premier League.

The Bees' 27-year-old has emerged as a serious target for Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, but having had a €70m (£61m) price tag placed on his head, it’s been reported overseas that those two clubs aren’t willing to meet that fee, therefore increasing the chances of him moving to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea working to sign Ivan Toney

Taking to X, Simon Phillips confirmed that Chelsea want Ivan Toney and are already grafting behind the scenes to try and beat their competitors to his signature in January. When asked whether the board were plotting a swoop for Osimhen, he replied: “Osimhen going nowhere in Jan. Chelsea working on Toney.”

During his time at Brentford, Toney has posted 89 contributions, 68 goals and 21 assists, in 124 appearances at the Community Stadium (Transfermarkt – Toney stats), showing how much of a prolific “monster” he can be in the final third, as dubbed his manager Thomas Frank.

The England international also has a decent record when playing against the Blues having secured two victories when part of the away team, so if he’s capable of picking up maximum points for the opposition, just imagine how much he could flourish under the guidance of Pochettino.

Aerial duels

Offside awareness

Direct free-kicks

Passing

Through balls

Finishing

The Northampton-born talent even shares the same agent, CAA Stellar, as Ben Chilwell, Robert Sanchez and Lucas Bergstrom (Chelsea contracts), so this existing connection that his representative already has to the club could give them a small advantage when trying to get a deal over the line at the start of next year.

Therefore, Toney may perfectly fit the profile of centre-forward that Chelsea are calling out for to lead their line through the middle, so this is definitely a no-brainer of a move to continue pursuing and one that the board should go all out for if the right opportunity was to present itself in January.