Chelsea wants Adeyemi , Juve desires Abraham, Lazio signs Dele-Bashiru and Okoli moves to Leicester

Whereas Super Eagles players are not hot in the ongoing European Summer Transfer Market Nigerian-born players are hot.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus have inquired about Roma striker Tammy Abraham, but the Bianconeri could miss out on signing Karim Adeyemi, who is wanted by Chelsea.

Juventus are looking for attacking reinforcements and according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Roma striker Abraham is an option to replace Arek Milik and become Dusan Vlahovic’s backup in 2024-25.

The pink paper claims that the Old Lady inquired about Abraham’s availability, hoping that Roma would be open to loan out the ex-Chelsea man.

Genoa‘s Mateo Retegui is also on the Old Lady’s agenda, but the Italy international may be more expensive than Abraham, who recently returned to action after a cruciate ligament injury suffered in 2023.

Roma are interested in Federico Chiesa, but it seems too early for a swap deal given that the Italian winger is waiting for offers from abroad.

Chiesa won’t sign a new deal with the Old Lady, so he’s on the market and Borussia Dortmund’s Adeyemi is an option to replace him.

The Germany international is on Cristiano Giuntoli’s agenda alongside Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood.

According to Gazzetta, however, Chelsea have recently sounded out Adeyemi, becoming a ‘threat’ to the Bianconeri.

Elsewhere, Lazio has officially announced the signing of midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru on a loan with an option to buy from Turkish Super Lig side Hatayspor.

The 23-year-old has moved to the Italian capital on an initial loan move with an obligation to buy if certain sporting conditions are met. Reports earlier in the week suggested that Lazio have paid a fee of around €2m to secure the loan, and will be obliged to pay a further €4m to make the deal permanent.

Dele-Bashiru, who joined Hatayspor as a free agent at the beginning of last season, is still under contract in Turkey until 2026, but he will be approaching the final year of that deal at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Reports in Italy claimed that there was a €7m release clause in the player’s Hatayspor contract, which means that Lazio has managed to negotiate a cut-down price.

The 22-year-old arrived in Rome on Thursday and has since completed the necessary medical checks and contract signings.

He had been a youth academy player in England with Manchester City, before joining Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday in 2020.

Meanwhile, Atalanta defender Caleb Okoli is on the verge of joining newly-promoted Premier League side Leicester City on a permanent transfer, but who is he and where has his career taken him thus far?

The highly-rated defender is set to join Leicester in a €15m deal with add-ons included.

Okoli is a 22-year-old centre-back, currently owned by Atalanta, but is remembered more recently for his performances while on loan at Frosinone in the 2023-24 season.

A tall and commanding, yet still athletic presence in the back line, Okoli has 14 caps for Italy’s U21 side, as well as another 11 appearances for the U20 and U19 teams.

He came through the youth ranks in Bergamo, but also spent time on the books of Serie C side Vicenza back in 2015-16.

Life as a senior professional began with two separate stints on loan in Serie B, first with SPAL in 2020-21, and then with Cremonese in the following season. With the latter, he played 27 times as the team finished second, which was enough to secure promotion to the top flight for 2022-23.

After his time with Cremonese, Okoli stayed on with Atalanta’s first team, making 17 top-flight appearances, but no other appearances in the Coppa Italia or Europe.

A temporary move to Frosinone came next, where he quickly established himself as an ever-present member of the back line. His debut came four games into the season, and from there he appeared in every Serie A match that he was eligible for.

He was suspended for Frosinone’s 2-1 loss to Juventus just before Christmas but then went on to start in all 21 of his side’s remaining league matches.

Though many had tipped Frosinone to struggle in the top flight this season, they put up a valiant fight and were unfortunate to be relegated, in heartbreaking fashion, on the final game of the 2023-24 season.

Now with two years left on his Atalanta contract, Okoli is set to become one of Leciester’s first signings of the summer, with medicals already booked in according to the latest updates.