Chelsea ‘draw up five-man shortlist to solve striker crisis as they prepare to complete third £100m-plus transfer’

CHELSEA have drawn up a five-man striker shortlist with Victor Osimhen their number one target, according to reports.

The striker impressed for Napoli last season as he finished as top scorer in Serie A.

Victor Osimhen is Chelsea’s number one transfer targetRex

Getty

Blues have a long-term interest in Dusan Vlahovic[/caption]

He was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League last summer amid interest from Blues and Manchester United.

Chelsea retain an interest in Osimhen but Napoli are unwilling to let him leave this month.

So club chiefs are instead lining up a summer move and will begin negotiating with Napoli once they agree personal terms with the Nigerian, report Caught Offside.

The report adds Chelsea have a number of alternative targets in mind if they fail to agree a deal for Osimhen, who penned a new deal tying him down to Napoli until 2026 last month.

Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be keen to add more firepower to his attack, with Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja providing a combined eight Prem goals.

Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic is reported to be on Chelsea’s transfer shortlist along with former Coventry star Viktor Gyokeres, who has scored 20 goals in 23 games since his summer move to Sporting Lisbon.

Bayer Leverkusen hitman Victor Boniface is also understood to be a target after hitting the net 10 times in 16 Bundesliga games.

While Brighton wonderkid Evan Ferguson has also caught the eye, though would likely command a significant fee.

Alamy

Brighton youngster Evan Ferguson is another alternative option[/caption]

FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS & NEW CUSTOMER BONUSES

Ferguson signed a six-year deal in November but Brighton chief executive Paul Barber has not ruled out selling the youngster for the right price – a cool £100m.

He said: “When we can put them into long contracts to give them security, give us security, but very importantly, with young players, also to help them keep learning.

“At some point in the future, Evan’s gonna be playing at an even higher level if his trajectory continues as it is.

“We want to make sure that we do everything we can to prepare him for that. Not just on the field, but off the field as well, give him as much support as we can.”

TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest transfer deals from around the world this January