John Obi Mikel says that it is ‘b******t’ that greed saw Victor Osimhen’s proposed Chelsea transfer fall through as he claims the deal was ‘very, very close’ to being completed on deadline day

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has revealed that Victor Osimhen was ‘very, very close’ to joining Chelsea this summer.

The Nigerian striker was heavily linked with a move to the Blues during the summer transfer window, with a move to the Premier League being his ‘dream’, but the deal fell through on the final day.

Osimhen, one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe, left Napoli for a surprise season-long loan move to Turkish Super Lig club Galatasaray.

Reports suggested that the West London club were unable to strike a deal with Osimhen due to his high wage demands. However, Mikel claims such suggestions are categorically untrue.

Speaking of the Obi One podcasthe said: ‘I hear a lot of people saying this and that about Victor and how greedy he is, blah, blah, blah. ‘Take a pay cut and come to Chelsea’, blah, blah, blah, that kind of thing.

“I know that boy. I know that boy. I just want to say that that is absolutely not true. Victor is not a greedy boy. He is not a greedy man, he just wants to get what he deserves and that is not a problem.”

During the transfer window, Osimhen is reportedly looking to earn a staggering weekly salary of around £500,000.

Although the Blues wanted to bring in a striker, it was thought they would not be able to get such a high fee. But Mikel had a loud response to Osimhen’s reported demands.

“No, he didn’t ask for any of that nonsense,” Mikel added. “I know what happened, I was in the middle of it all. So I can tell everyone that this is absolutely not true.

“He just wants to play football and get what he deserves and that’s no problem. A player who knows what he’s worth and demands to be paid what he’s worth, that’s no problem.”

Chelsea legend Mikel previously stated that he worked with both parties to make the transfer possible, due to his relationship with Osimhen and his former club.

The friendship between the two began when Osimhen made his debut for the Nigeria national team in 2017, when Mikel was still captain.

As the Blues work hard to land Osimhen on deadline day, the retired midfielder has revealed just how close the club came to completing the transfer.

“We were very, very close to closing this deal, but there were just little hiccups that we couldn’t resolve.

“I know what the club offered him, we had to compromise in the end. Both parties had to compromise. It was just a few little things here and there, paperwork, medical stuff and a few issues that we just couldn’t get over.”

Behind the scenes, Mikel was busy arranging the deal, seemingly working tirelessly to make the transfer happen.

“I was the guy who was in the middle of everything,” Mikel continued. “There were a couple of days I didn’t sleep. Thursday I didn’t sleep. Friday I didn’t sleep.

‘I’m here in Dubai, it’s about a three, four hour drive, so I have to wait for calls, I think in the middle of the night.

‘On Thursday I was sleeping around 4 in the morning, because I was waiting for a call from here and a call from there.’

Chelsea weren’t the only club interested in Osimhen this summer. Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli made a £55million bid to secure his services, but the striker rejected their advances.

Osimhen had several options to choose from and Mikel claimed there was only one destination the striker really wanted to go to.

“I said we have to send someone to see Victor and that will change his perspective. Then he will understand how much the club wants him,” he added.

“The club sends someone to Naples and tries to talk to Victor and his agent to make sure we get the deal done. It shows how much the club wanted the player, and how much the club wanted Victor.

‘I know he was very keen to come to the club because he knows he still has a lot to prove in Europe.

“He wants to come to Chelsea, he wants to come and help the club get back to where we should be. He knows he can score a lot of goals here in the Premier League, and what better place to do that than, you know, his boyhood club, Chelsea.”

Osimhen, who scored 76 goals in four seasons for Napoli, left on loan to Galatasaray last week, seemingly ending his transfer saga.

Despite Mikel’s claims that Osimhen would like to leave, the striker has since said he is happy to join the Turkish giants.

“When I heard about Galatasaray’s interest, it was a very easy decision for me,” Osimhen told the club website.

‘I knew how big Galatasaray was and how much it was like a family. And it had incredible fans.’