Chelsea can Osimhen in January, claims Mikel

According to former Chelsea player John Obi Mikel, despite Victor Osimhen's transfer to Galatasaray, they were "very, very close" to getting him from Napoli and can try again in January. "These are just minor details."

Although it was known throughout the summer that the Nigerian international was available and could sign for a fee under his €130 million release clause, Chelsea didn't really start to pursue negotiations until the last few days.

He stated on the Obi One Podcast, "I could see the ambition of where they want to take this club now and also on Victor's side, I think if we have to pick this up again in January or next summer, we know where we are." We are aware of our stop, and it's only the little details that need to be finalised and the deal will be done.”
It is not quite clear whether there is a break clause in his contract at Galatasaray, or more likely a gentleman’s agreement to release him early with a penalty paid to the Turkish side.
Mikel says Chelsea could have signed the striker in the summer if they had begun negotiations earlier.

"To put it plainly, we were quite near. We had only a few minor concerns that we were unable to resolve, but they were still enough to keep us hours away from closing this sale.

We were pressed for time after that. It just didn't work the one occasion when you wanted the seconds, minutes, and hours to slow down a little. I believe that in order to close a business, both parties truly contributed.

The Partenopei and Al-Ittihad had reached an agreement on deadline day for a sale for €80 million, including bonuses. However, the deal collapsed hours later, allegedly due to an additional request of €5m from Napoli.
Subsequently, Chelsea intervened, but was unable to reach a personal agreement with Osimhen. According to Sky Sport Italia, Chelsea was only willing to pay €4 million a season in salary, with an additional €4 million coming from performance-based incentives like Champions League qualification.

Osimhen joined Galatasaray on loan for the 2024–25 season after most European leagues had passed the deadline.

Even so, Mikel believes he can sign with Chelsea during the January transfer window.