Chelsea have made offers for two players worth £66.7m as they look to sign a forward in the January transfer window, according to reports.
The Blues have made a positive start to the season under new boss Enzo Maresca after a couple of poor campaigns in the Premier League.
Maresca’s side are currently third in the Premier League table after 11 matches with Chelsea having already played Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal.
Their 19 points from 11 matches has given them a brilliant foundation to attempt to achieve a top-four finish in the Premier League after two seasons without Champions League football.
Many former players and pundits are baffled how Chelsea are still lacking a world-class centre-forward despite spending over £1billion since a Todd Boehly-led consortium took over at Stamford Bridge in May 2022.
Nicolas Jackson has scored six goals in 11 Premier League matches this term but Maresca wants to take some of the goalscoring burden away from the Senegal international.
And now reports in Spain claim Chelsea have made an ‘offer’ of €60m (£50m) for Brentford striker Bryan Mbeumo – who has been brilliant in the Premier League for a few seasons – and ‘look set to take the lead in the race for his signature.’
Mbeumo’s potential ‘arrival would be an ideal reinforcement for the London side, who need a reliable goalscorer and a player who can contribute both in team play and in finishing’.
The Camerooon international’s versatility is also a big plus for Chelsea and the Blues ‘want to take advantage of the opportunity to sign Mbeumo in this upcoming transfer market’.
Another a report in Spain has claimed that Chelsea are in the race for another forward in the form of Lyon attacker Rayan Cherki with Maresca keen to beat Liverpool to his signature.
Chelsea have ‘already submitted a €20m (£16.7m) offer’ for the Lyon star to match the amount Premier League rivals Liverpool are also willing to pay.
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Former Manchester City defender Richard Dunne thinks Chelsea could have a say in the title race this season and insists they are now dead certs for the top four.
Dunne told Gambling Zone: “With the way the season has started, I think there’s going to be maybe a couple more teams who are capable of putting themselves in the title race with the likes of Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal because the league is so competitive and every team is capable of taking points and winning games.
“Chelsea can keep themselves involved. They seem to have really got themselves together for the first time in ages, because for the last few years, they were all over the place. They’ve really got themselves together, they’re playing really well and they’ve obviously got a really strong squad. I think they can put together a decent season this year.
“We know the issues that Man City and Arsenal have had in terms of not being at their best this season. I think that will happen to Liverpool at some stage in the season as well; they will have a little dip.
“I think the gap will be closer between the top teams this season. I think the season is set up for an exciting title race and hopefully there will be three or four involved in it.”
Dunne added: “In the top four, I would definitely go with Chelsea at the moment. I think they’ll improve and become more consistent as the season goes on. They have a squad that can cope with injuries to key players. They’ve got so much cover.
“From an attacking point of view, they have some wonderful talent. I can’t see them having a dry spell in front of goal at any point in the season because of the quality they’ve got in reserve. They’ll always have different creative and attacking options to turn to.
“I don’t think Chelsea will come close to winning the league, I think they could be in the race for a bit, but, in my eyes, they’d probably be the favourites for fourth place because of the quality they have in the squad.”
