The January signing of Viktor Gyokeres, an attacker for Sporting, has been ruled out by Chelsea.
Despite Chelsea’s denials, Portuguese media claim that the Blues turned down a £73 million bid for 25-year-old Gyokeres.
After joining Sporting from Coventry for £20 million in the summer, Gyokeres has scored 20 goals in 24 games this season.
Chelsea is keen on adding a new striker to their roster, but they aren’t targeting Gyokeres since Sporting wants their £87 million release clause fully paid.
Despite rumours to the contrary, Napoli forward Victor Osimhen is only available for the full £112 million release clause, according to the Blues.
Ivan Toney of Brentford, Evan Ferguson of Brighton, Serhou Guirassy of Stuttgart, Santiago Gimenez of Feyenoord, and Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig are among the other names rumored to be joining Chelsea.
Nevertheless, Chelsea will be careful in their January transfer evaluation of Armando Broja and Nicolas Jackson’s participation in the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
Christopher Nkunku has a chance to score again and return to next week’s Carabao Cup semi-final match against Middlesbrough.
Also, Chelsea must keep their spending under the Premier League budget.