Victor Osimhen led Galatasaray to a domestic double last season before sealing a permanent move to the club this summer, Soccernet.ng reports.
With the Nigerian national team, Osimhen’s plaudits are no less. In just 44 games, he’s just six goals behind the legendary Rashidi Yekini in Nigeria’s all-time goalscorer list.
Two seasons ago, the 26-year-old fell out with the Napoli hierarchy and was seeking a move abroad.
In the same year, Chelsea were still reeling from the Graham Potter effect with Mauricio Pochettino in charge of things.
Chelsea’s strategy under Boehly’s ownership
Since Todd Boehly took over the Blues in May 2022 under the BlueCo ownership and Clearlake Capital, the club has had a significant goalscoring problem, especially in big games, and their failure to secure a proven striker has been glaring.
Despite signing more than 50 players since then, the two-time UEFA Champions League winners still lack a ruthless finisher, and that decision has become even more costly following Osimhen’s explosive form at Galatasaray.
Under Boehly’s regime, Chelsea have only signed one player over the age of 25, and that was Tosin Adarabioyo, from Fulham, on a free deal.
They’ve also tried to keep every player they’ve signed in that time under the £200,000 per week wage cap; meanwhile, Osimhen commands about £360,000 weekly.
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The Nigerian is currently the UCL top scorer this season, above the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane. Additionally, he’s broken a few records just four months into the 2025/2026 season.
The ex-LOSC Lille man smashed Obafemi Martins’ record to become the highest-scoring Nigerian in the Champions League and in European competitions. He also broke Burak Yilmaz’s record of scoring in six consecutive European games for Galatasaray.
Victor Osimhen is the first ever Galatasaray player to score in seven consecutive games in major European competitions, breaking Burak Yilmaz’s record.
⚽⚽ vs. Tottenham
⚽ vs. AZ Alkmaar
⚽ vs. Dynamo Kyiv
⚽ vs. Ajax
⚽ vs. AZ Alkmaar
⚽ vs. Lverpool
⚽⚽ vs. Bodø /… pic.twitter.com/VCT11zYnTs— Squawka (@Squawka) October 22, 2025
The Blues were heavily linked with the Nigerian striker in the summer, with ex-Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and John Mikel Obi reportedly selling the Chelsea project to him.
However, the Blues were unwilling to match the huge wages the striker demanded, allowing the Turkish giants to seal a €75 million deal for one of the best African strikers of his generation.
Instead of snapping up a proven goalscorer, Chelsea opted for younger forwards Liam Delap and João Pedro in deals worth almost £90 million combined.
The pair remain long-term prospects, but unlike Osimhen, they are yet to show the cutting edge required to lead the attack of a club chasing titles. A hamstring injury has limited Delap’s playing time this season, and his only goal for the club so far came in the FIFA Club World Cup.
On the other hand, Pedro got up to a flying start in the competition in the United States, scoring two extraordinary goals against his former club, Fluminense.
Since then, he’s featured across different roles for Enzo Maresca’s side, but he’s scored just four goals.
Chelsea’s missed opportunity now looks even more painful, considering Osimhen’s status as a certified winner. He famously fired Napoli to their first Serie A title in over three decades during the 2022/2023 season to become one of the very few African strikers to win the Scudetto.
He also clinched the Golden Boot in Italy and repeated the feat in the Turkish Süper Lig with Galatasaray.
Chelsea’s biggest problem under Boehly has remained obvious across several managers: they create chances but fail to score them. Despite spells of dominance and impressive buildup play, the Blues rarely look like a team with a reliable striker.
Not to forget, Marc Guiu was recalled from his loan spell at Sunderland after Nicolas Jackson joined Bavarian giants Bayern Munich, but he’s accrued just 163 minutes of action so far this season, scoring just one goal.
Should Chelsea have signed Victor Osimhen?
Drogba is a cult hero at Stamford Bridge. In 381 games, the Ivorian scored 164 goals and provided 82 assists, winning the UEFA Champions League, four English Premier League titles, and four FA Cups.
Osimhen’s profile—physical, explosive, strong in the air, and relentless in duels—made him the perfect Drogba successor. And Chelsea knew it.
The striker, in a recent interview with UEFA, the 2023 CAF Player of the Year, revealed how Drogba was his idol growing up, stating he mirrored his game after the Chelsea legend.
“In the footballing aspect, it was Drogba [that I looked up to] because I saw him and I tried to model my game to his, and I tried to see how he plays, and how he’s living life outside of football.
“So, I have to be grateful for that man because for all I am now, I think I attribute some of my successes to him.
“He was the one that I actually picked to see the way he plays, to try to add some of his qualities, some of the things that he does that make him one of the most sought-after strikers in world football during his playing time.
“So, for me, it’s my brother in life, also, and then, in football, it’s Didier Drogba.”
Chelsea’s insistence on signing younger players with potential resale value played a huge role in their hesitation. Osimhen, already established as a world-class striker, did not fit neatly into that model.
The striker’s winning mentality is arguably his most important attribute. He thrives under pressure, dominates duels, and carries his team in crucial moments. This is the same aura Drogba brought to Chelsea, the ability to turn big games on their head and, most importantly, the ability to win titles.
Despite not having the best outing at the AFCON 2023 tournament, Osimhen scored a goal and led Nigeria to a second-place finish, and without him in their squad, their chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup would be in ruins.
He scored a hat-trick against Benin to help Eric Chelle’s men to a play-off spot before scoring another double against Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Gabon.
Chelsea fans will remember this transfer saga as one of the biggest ‘what-ifs’ of the BlueCo era. The Nigerian striker was ready for a Premier League challenge.
Drogba and Mikel were ready to welcome him. Stamford Bridge was ready to embrace another African superstar, but the club’s hesitation and refusal to match Galatasaray’s wage offer cost them dearly.
Everything he’s done four months into the new season suggests he would have transformed the club’s attack. The next Drogba was right in front of them, but Chelsea just never took the chance.