Chelsea could announce the signing of £85m rated star player

Chelsea are keen to reach an agreement to sign an overseas striker in January, according to an update from a reliable journalist.

Despite securing the services of Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal over the summer, Todd Boehly and Mauricio Pochettino are reportedly still in the market for another centre-forward, and they have already been linked with a couple of candidates in particular. Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Brentford’s Ivan Toney are the two primary names to have been recently doing the rounds in the capital, but should the hierarchy for whatever reason fail to land one or both of those, they have set their sights on an alternative.

Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres only put pen to paper during the previous window from Coventry City, but having firmly established himself as their overall best-performing player this season with a match rating of 7.65 (WhoScored - Sporting CP statistics), he’s caught the eye.

The Sweden international’s manager, Ruben Amorim, has warned that admirers will have to pay an £85m release clause in order to take his prized asset away in the coming weeks, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped the 25-year-old from making his way onto the radar in the Premier League.

Chelsea interested in Gyokeres

According to Simon Phillips (via CaughtOffside), Gyokeres is of interest to Chelsea, who have added him to their shortlist of frontline targets ahead of January. Osimhen and Toney still remain the owner's priorities, but considering his impressive form this season, Sporting CP's talisman has earned himself a place on the list of targets.

The Liga Portugal side aren't expected to be open to selling him so soon after getting him in the building, but if the required fee was to be met, who knows what could happen in the early stages of 2024.

Since joining Sporting CP, Gyokeres has clocked up an unbelievable 22 contributions, 15 goals and seven assists, in just 18 appearances, showing how prolific he can be in the final third, but he also uses his athleticism to pose a threat to the opposition (Transfermarkt - Gyokeres statistics).

Standing at 6 foot 2, the colossus currently ranks in the 97th percentile for successful take-ons so he loves to use his pace to dribble past his marker and create as many chances as possible for both himself and his fellow teammates (FBRef - Gyokeres statistics).

Sponsored by Nike, Boehly’s target is also a versatile operator having been deployed in six various positions over the pitch following his arrival on the professional scene, including everywhere across the frontline and even two roles in the midfield.

As dubbed by his former Coventry teammate Maxime Biamou, Gyokeres can be “unplayable” on his day, which he’s already proven at his new club, so while the chances of him joining are unlikely at this stage, it would be a huge coup if a deal was somehow to be pulled off.