Chelsea ready stunning 5-man striker shortlist ahead of January transfer window as Mauricio Pochettino eyes more signings - Reports 

Chelsea reportedly have a stunning five-man striker shortlist as Mauricio Pochettino eyes adding a goal scorer to the squad in January. Ian Toney, Victor Osimhen, Viktor Gyokeres, Rooney Bardghji, and Antonio Nusa are said to be the players the Blues are keeping tabs on right now.

As per a report in the Evening Standard, Pochettino has made it clear to the Chelsea board that he needs a new forward in the January window. He has already spoken about his preferences and was quoted by EuroSport earlier this month as saying

"Football is about scoring goals and we were not clinical in front of goal. I'm really, really disappointed. We didn't get the point we deserved. I think we were better but we didn't get what we wanted. This was a game to play and to win. It's a problem we need to check. We need to analyze the reality. We need to talk and to try to improve in the next transfer market."

Toney is still serving his suspension for betting breaches and will only be returning to action next month. Arsenal are also keeping tabs on the Brentford star and are in talks with the London outfit.

Osimhen is also in contract talks with Napoli and journalist Gianluca di Marzio has reported that the Serie A side will be adding a release clause. The striker has also reportedly received interest from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), who are preparing for the departure of Kylian Mbappe.

While Gyokeres is 25, Nusa and Bardghji are the players the Blues reportedly view apt for their project, with players under the age of 20 as their main targets.

Chelsea legend wants the club to sign Victor Osimhen

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has claimed that he will work on getting Victor Osimhen to Chelsea when he recently had the forward on the Obi One Podcast. He has advised the Napoli star to reject any deal he gets from Saudi Arabia as he wants the Nigerian star to move to Stamford Bridge.

John Obi Mikel said:

"It's not the time to go to Saudi. Next season, I know you're going to come to Chelsea. I'm going to be the agent to broker that deal. You're 100% coming to Chelsea!"

Osimhen just smiled at these comments and revealed:

"I had two jerseys from my brother when I was a kid - Chelsea and Manchester United. When I was playing grassroots [I was compared to Didier Drogba]. We used to use my brother's phone [to watch Drogba]. I would then go on the pitch and try to [emulate] at his game [and learn]. I still watch Drogba's comps now."

Di Marzio has reported that Osimhen's new contract will come with a €130 million release clause. The move comes just months after Napoli rejected a €200 million bid from Al Hilal for the forward.