Chelsea need a striker during the summer transfer window, and it would appear that their main target has emerged.
Moussa Dembélé is no stranger to London. The French striker spent four years in the capital with rivals Fulham before embarking on a successful career with Celtic and Lyon.
Stamford Bridge has seen its fair share of French strikers in recent years with Loïc Remy, Nicolas Anelka and Olivier Giroud among those to have played for Chelsea.
Frank Lampard can currently call on Giroud, Tammy Abraham and Michy Batshuayi as part of his forward line, with Abraham leading the club’s scoring charts.
However, Giroud is expected to leave on a free transfer this summer, while Batshuayi has scored just once in 16 league appearances this season.
It’s not unfair to suggest that Lampard is looking for a successor to Diego Costa. The Spanish international joined Chelsea in 2014, and although he had his critics, few could question his goal-scoring record. In 120 games for Chelsea, Costa scored 58 goals and provided 24 assists.
The hope will be that Dembélé can replace that bustling threat in the final third. The Frenchman is 3/1 to join the Blues when the transfer window reopens, according to BonusCodeBets.
But he will not come cheap. Dembélé is expected to fetch in the region of £60m when he does finally leave Lyon.
Dembélé has scored 22 goals and assisted seven times in 42 appearances this season.
He was linked with a move away from Lyon in January, but club president Jean-Michel Aulas poured cold water on those reports.
“We will only do deals that correspond with what our Sporting Director, board members and manager want,” Aulas said.
“Moussa Dembélé will not leave because he wants to stay to win something with Lyon. There have been offers for him and for other players, but none of those we want to keep will leave.”
