Chelsea have been handed a boost in their pursuit of a new striker, as a key target of theirs would apparently love to join them regardless of whether they achieve Champions League football for next season.
Chelsea seal huge Man United win in race for Champions League place
Marc Cucurella's strike twenty minutes from full-time sealed a precious three points for Enzo Maresca on Friday night, with the Spaniard scoring Chelsea's only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Man United.
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The victory at Stamford Bridge puts Chelsea in a very good position heading into their final Premier League game of the season against Nottingham Forest, and even if Nuno Espirito Santo's side beat West Ham on Sunday, Maresca knows that a win at the City Ground would guarantee Champions League football next season.
"Very important. At this stage of the season it's important to win games," said Maresca about Chelsea's 1-0 win over Man United.
Race for Champions League qualification Points
2. Arsenal 68
3. Newcastle United 66
4. Chelsea 66
5. Aston Villa 66
6. Man City 65
7. Nottingham Forest 62
"We also pay attention in the way we win the game. I think tonight we struggled on the ball because we didn't expect them to be so aggressive man-to-man. I used to watch five, six, seven games of the other team. I've never seen them so aggressive man-to-man. So they surprised us a little by that.
"I think between the first half and the second half we created enough chances to deserve to win the game.
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"It's very important for sure, but the reason why I was so happy at the end is because United beat City away, drew with City at home, drew with Liverpool, drew with Arsenal. So they know how to play against a big team. So I expected, drew with us away, so I expected a very tough game.
"The reason why I was happy was especially because we beat a team that against Arsenal, Liverpool, City, it was difficult to beat them."
The importance of a top five finish cannot be understated, especially when it comes to the club's transfer plans, and Maresca has already confirmed their European status will have a direct effect on their summer recruitment.
That being said, there is one target who'd be eager to make the move to west London anyway - Napoli outcast Victor Osimhen.
The £172,000-per-week marksman, currently on loan at Galatasaray, was a top target for Chelsea last summer before his temporary switch to the Turkish Süper Lig giants, but a move ultimately failed to materialise.
Galatasaray's Victor Osimhen reacts
As per journalist Simon Phillips, Chelsea remain in the race for him this year, and it is believed that Osimhen would still love to join the Blues, even if they don't end up qualifying for Europe's most prestigious competition.
"Chelsea are ‘still there’ for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen," said Phillips. "The player has always been keen to join Chelsea regardless of Champions League football, and he is still keen now. The deal was worked on hard last summer, and the belief from our insiders is that his wage demands would not be as astronomical as the media are portraying.
Osimhen-Chelsea
"Chelsea can easily go back into the deal and our sources believe that it wouldn’t even be that difficult to come to an agreement."
The 26-year-old would still be expensive, though, and Chelsea would still have to break their wage structure to seal a deal, Phillips later explained.
Even so, Osimhen's goalscoring form over the last few seasons heavily suggests he'd upgrade Maresca's striker options.