Chelsea may have been given a last-minute chance to save their transfer window and sign Victor Osimhen or Ivan Toney on deadline day.
The London club seemingly missed out on both of their striker targets on deadline day, as both Toney and Osimhen could be set to join Saudi Pro League club Al Ahli.
Brentford accepted the Saudi club's £40million bid for Toney from the club, while Serie A side Napoli have accepted a bid of £67.3m plus add-ons.
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However, new reports have suggested that not all hope is lost for Chelsea, and they may still have a chance to sign one of the two players.
Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol has revealed that senior sources in Saudi Arabia have confirmed that Al Ahli will not be able to sign both Toney and Osimhen, despite agreeing deals with both of the player's current clubs.
Saudi Pro League state that clubs are only permitted to include ten foreign players over the age of 21 in their 25-man squads.
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For Al Ahli, bringing in both Toney and Osimhen would take them over this foreign player limit, meaning one of the two strikers would not be able to play for their new club.
However, with the Saudi Pro League transfer window open until Monday, it is possible that Al Ahli could sign both players and allow one one of their current foreign players to leave in order to facilitate the deals for Toney and Osimhen.
That being said, if they want to sell the foreign player to a club within the European leagues, then the deal would need to be agreed on Friday ahead of the transfer window closing at 23:00pm.
The sources also claim that, as Al Ahli already boast an impressive attacking lineup that includes Premier League greats Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez, signing two strikers would not be necessary.
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If Toney completes his move to Saudi Arabia, he is set to earn €18million a year, while Osimhen will reportedly earn around £33.6m.
"I can say that Ivan will not play on Saturday," confirmed Brentford boss Thomas Frank on Thursday ahead of the weekend match with Southampton.
“Ivan is training well, and in good spirits, and I’m happy to (answer) more questions about Ivan the next time we are sitting here.”
Topics: Chelsea, Victor Osimhen, Ivan Toney, Saudi Pro League
Ben McCrum