CHELSEA are prepared to pay “big money” to land Moussa Dembele after Lyon rejected their opening bid of £34million.
The Blues saw an initial offer for the former Celtic hitman, 23, knocked back by the Ligue 1 giants.
Chelsea are set to ‘spend big’ to land Lyon striker Moussa DembeleCredit: Reuters
But Frank Lampard is said to be willing to break the bank in order to provide some top-quality back-up for Tammy Abraham up front.
Both Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud could be on the way out of Stamford Bridge this month after failing to impress the new boss.
Chelsea have been linked with Timo Werner, Jadon Sancho and Wilfried Zaha this month after seeing their two-window transfer ban reduced to one.
But Sky Sports’ Dharmesh Sheth revealed it’s the “new Didier Drogba” they want, saying: “[The No1 priority] is Lyon striker Moussa Dembele.
“The speculation surrounding Dembele prompted Lyon to release a statement earlier this week saying their wish is to keep him and they have full confidence in him being part of a successful team for seasons to come.
“Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that he will stay at Lyon, we haven’t heard what Dembele wants to do at this stage.”
But Sheth continued by saying the Blues are ready to splash the cash, adding: “Chelsea are prepared to pay big money for him now their ban has been lifted.
“We’ll see what happens on that one, but it’s thought that Lampard sees some similarities between Dembele and Didier Drogba.
“It’s not surprising that a striker is up there in their priority list.
“Tammy Abraham we know is the main man this season and the likes of Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud have barely had a look-in so far.”
Dembele has scored ten goals in 25 games across all competitions for Lyon this term – but has failed to find the net since a 2-1 win over Nice in November.
Chelsea are also hoping to add some strength to their defensive ranks, with Ben Chilwell and Nathan Ake the top targets.
Chelsea assistant Jody Morris explains Frank Lampard has been laid low by a sickness bug that has also hit his players
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
