Chelsea have been offered the chance to sign a new striker who shares the same agent as Reece James, as the Blues look at a late January addition.
Chelsea striker rumours
Mauricio Pochettino currently has Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja as his two senior centre-forward options, although the former of the two is currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
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During that time, there has also been plenty of talk about Broja’s future, with reports suggesting Chelsea would be open to selling for £35m as Crystal Palace, Fulham, West Ham and Wolves all circle. Despite this, Pochettino has recently come out and backed the Albanian, putting his faith in the 22-year-old and comparing him to Harry Kane’s situation earlier in his career.
“All the biggest strikers needed time when they were young. They need to find their own balance. But I still believe that he has the potential to be an amazing striker.
“The process takes time. I always compare it to Harry Kane. He went on loan to Leyton Orient, Norwich and spent time finding his real balance. In our first six months, he started to perform only in December and January, and that’s when we started to see his real potential.
“He’s a player that suffered a big injury last season, he needs to put that big idea behind him, always that is difficult. And we are at Chelsea, he is trying to deliver while compared with the biggest strikers like [Didier] Drogba, [Jimmy Floyd] Hasselbaink or others. That’s always difficult for a young guy.”
Even if Broja remained at the club, there is still an argument that a third centre-forward could be needed, and there hasn’t been a shortage of rumoured targets.
The likes of Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres have been linked as big-money targets, while as short-term solutions, AZ Alkmaar’s Vangelis Pavlidis, Zenit St Petersburg’s Mateo Cassierra, Cercle Brugge’s Kevin Denkey and Atletico Mineiro’s Paulinho have been offered to Chelsea.
Another new forward could now be of interest to the Blues following a transfer update in the last 48 hours.
Chelsea offered Callum Wilson
According to talkSPORT, Callum Wilson has been ‘offered to Chelsea and West Ham for a bargain fee as Newcastle look to cash in before the January transfer window shuts’.
The report claims that Newcastle ‘could be forced to consider offers of between £18million and £20m for Wilson to help ease their concerns over breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules.’
Stamford Bridge could therefore be his next destination, and Wilson is a forward who has netted twice at the stadium before. Wilson, who shares the same agent as James, would arrive with plenty of Premier League experience after making more than 200 appearances in the competition and may still have years of top-flight football left in him at the age of 31.
Eddie Howe is also a big fan of the striker after working with Wilson at Bournemouth and Newcastle, saying last year:
"He's been incredible and I feel that his performance was right up there with one of the best I've seen him play, purely from a tactical perspective.
"He has to lead the press and the one we bounce off initially. He kept going right until the end and his goalscoring record is excellent. I'm delighted for him, he's a huge player for us and a big presence in the dressing room."