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Chelsea will reportedly need to fork out £85million if they are to secure the services of Viktor Gyokeres in the January transfer window. Mauricio Pochettino is desperate to bolster his forward ranks next month, with several different options around Europe being monitored.
Despite forking out over £1billion since the arrival of Todd Boehly at Stamford Bridge, the Blues still look in need of significant investment. Chelsea remain committed to bringing in younger stars so that they can develop them themselves, however, a top-quality striker is at the top of their shopping list heading into January.
Napoli star Victor Osimhen is among their considerations, though he is locked in contract extension talks at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. The ex-Lille star has agreed to pen a bumper new deal at the club, though with a whopping £112million release clause.
As a result, Chelsea are exploring alternative options and have recently been linked with Sporting star Gyokeres. According to The Mirror, the Blues have ‘cast an eye’ over the Swedish striker in recent weeks and are continuing to monitor his situation closely after his impressive start to the season.
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Sporting are in no rush to part ways with their No. 9 though, having only signed him from Coventry City over the summer. Instead, the Portuguese side are said to have indicated that they will only allow him to leave if an offer of £85m is lodged, and they have ‘zero interest’ in listening to lesser bids.
Sporting manager Ruben Amorim spoke out earlier this week about the interest in his free-scoring striker, saying: “Gyokeres has a release clause, it was said that in January he would only leave under the clause. But it is normal for clubs to pay attention to clubs in Portugal, they know that the players in our championship are prepared for the best leagues in the world.”
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Gyokeres has scored 16 goals in 19 appearances since joining Sporting, and he could be the focal point that Chelsea are in desperate need of at present, but it remains to be seen whether Pochettino would favour a proven world-class option in the shape of Osimhen.
The Blues are also among the admirers of Brentford star Ivan Toney, with Arsenal also firmly in the race to secure the signature of the England international. The Bees have insisted that only offers in excess of £100m would test their resolve in January, with a summer exit favoured instead.
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