Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson says he is wary of Chelsea’s going all out to splash big on Nigeria international forward Victor Osimhen, who was yesterday crowned the Africa footballer of the year, OwnGoalNigeria.com report.
According to Football Transfers , Chelsea’s owner Todd Boehly is willing to pay whatever it takes to sign the 24 year old who is currently having a contract stand off with Napoli over extending his deal, which will have a year to run at the end of this season.
Boehly is said to have the backing of the coach of the club Mauricio Pochettino on the signing of the striker in January with the team desperate to have a top striker to ease their goal scoring issues, that has seen them dropped to 12th on the log of the English Premier League.
Merson is however warning them to approach the move with caution as the Nigerian isn’t proven yet. He warned them about making the same mistake they did with several players at the club at the moment.
Not minding the fact that the Nigerian finished as top scorer in the Serie A last season with 26 goals and also powered his team to their first league title in 33 years, Merson warned he still isn’t what can be referred to as a finished article for a team like Chelsea.
While discussing what Chelsea need to do in the January transfer window he said: “Chelsea have to get a centre forward in January. How many teams do anything without a centre forward?
“There is Victor Osimhen at Napoli. However, I feel that is a gamble because he would be coming into the hardest league in the world. How many times have we seen someone rip it up in another country only to struggle in the Premier League? We’ve seen it too many times.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
