Chelsea may turn their attentions to Brentford hotshot Ollie Watkins as their search for a new striker enters dire straits, with just four days of a so far fruitless January transfer window remaining.
The Blues have been linked with a host of front men from across the globe this month, including
Krzysztof Piątek, Edinson Cavani and Moussa Dembélé, but moves for any of those names seem unlikely at this stage.
However, while the Championship forward Watkins would be a more low-key arrival than the likes of Cavani and Dembélé, he has been in fine form in the second tier.
The 24-year-old has netted 17 times in 27 games for the Bees so far this term, and Frank Lampard is believed to have earmarked him for a move at some point in the future.
According to The Star, Watkins is seen as a long-term target for the Blues having impressed for their west London rivals in recent seasons.
Hailing from Torquay, Watkins would also boost the club's increasingly impressive homegrown ranks, with the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tariq Lamptey all being given regular opportunities under Lampard's tutelage.
However, it seems this may not be a deal that happens this month, despite the Chelsea boss' obvious frustrations with his current backup options. Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud are misfiring as young Tammy Abraham carries the weight of goalscoring expectation.
Lampard reiterated his exasperation with the situation after Chelsea edged past Hull City in the FA Cup on Saturday.
“We had chances to score, and when we had those chances and played some nice passages, we got sloppy. At half time I wasn’t delighted and then Hull really gave us a tough game in the second half.
“If you’re not going to take those chances when you can, then it can remain tough until the 94th minute, which it did."
Next up, Chelsea face Leicester on Saturday before meetings with Manchester United, Tottenham and Bayern Munich in a very tough run of fixtures.
Source : 90min