Hafiz Ibrahim’s transfer to Chelsea threatens to crash as Lazio move to sign Nigeria wonderkid

Hafiz Umar Ibrahim’s dreams of playing for Chelsea may have hit the rocks as the Stamford Bridge landlords are delaying the decision to sign the exciting Nigerian youngster, Soccernet.ng reports.

Ibrahim burst into the limelight earlier this year at the Viareggio Cup in Italy, where he stole the show with ten goals in six matches to finish as the top scorer.

His performance earned him the admiration of many of Europe’s top clubs but Norwegian giants Bodo/Glimt led the race for his signature.

However, just before he signed for Bodo/Glimt, Chelsea reached out to the youngster and a phone call from Blues winger Raheem Sterling convinced him to dump Bodo/Glimt and head to London for a two-week trial.

The deal with Chelsea was clear: impress during the trial and get a 1.5- to 2-million-pound contract with the Blues. Ibrahim was then expected to be loaned to the Ligue 1 at Strasbourg for the 2024/25 season.

However, two months after the end of his trial, Chelsea are reportedly still interested in signing Ibrahim but the former Champions League winners have not been able to agree on a fee with the young lad’s Nigerian club, Ojodu FC.

According to the London World, encouraged by Chelsea’s failure to reach an agreement with Ibrahim, Italian giants Lazio have indicated interest in signing the 18-year-old striker.

Despite being snubbed by the Nigerian teen wonder in March, Bodo/Glimt also remain interested in getting Ibrahim to move to Norway.

Worthy of note is that Ibrahim had and passed the trial at Chelsea when Mauricio Pochettino and his technical team were still in charge of the Blues.

However, the former Tottenham boss was sacked in May and former Leicester City gaffer Enzo Maresca – who signed a five-year contract, with the option of an additional year – has been appointed in his place.