July 5th 2024.
According to recent reports, Atletico Madrid's manager Diego Simeone has rejected a £42m offer from Chelsea for their star Spanish striker, Samu Omorodion. It seems that Chelsea have set their sights on the 20-year-old player as their top target for this summer's transfer window, after missing out on another striker, Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.
The new boss of Chelsea, Enzo Maresca, is determined to strengthen his team's attacking options and sees Omorodion as the perfect fit. This comes after their previous striker, Nicolas Jackson, had a mixed first season at Stamford Bridge, scoring 17 goals in all competitions but facing criticism for his missed opportunities in front of goal.
Omorodion was signed by Atletico Madrid from Granada last summer and was then sent on loan to Alaves for the 2023-24 season. Although he only managed to score eight goals in 34 La Liga games, he impressed his parent club enough for them to consider recalling him midway through the season. However, Atletico have no pressure to sell the young striker, who was named La Liga's Player of the Month in February, and have rejected Chelsea's initial bid of £42m.
If Chelsea want to secure Omorodion's signature, they will need to make a much higher offer and possibly meet his release clause of just under £70m. Back in October, Simeone had expressed his belief that the young player would become an important part of Atletico Madrid's team in the future, saying, "Let's hope he does well at Alaves, because he has a future with Atletico."
It seems that Omorodion is set to represent Spain at the Paris Olympics this summer and then return to Madrid, where he will aim to break into Simeone's first-team. Meanwhile, Chelsea have already made four signings for the upcoming 2024-25 season, including Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Omari Kellyman, while also selling Ian Maatsen, Lewis Hall, and Omari Hutchinson.
Despite their late push in the last season, Chelsea still finished sixth in the Premier League and qualified for Europe. However, they have made a managerial change, with Maresca taking over from Mauricio Pochettino. Fans can stay updated with all the latest Chelsea news, exclusives, and analysis by signing up for updates and agreeing to the privacy policy. The site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
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