Chelsea linked with five new forwards in newspapers

Mark Holmes

Chelsea have been linked with five new forwards in Sunday’s newspapers, including Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Jose Mourinho said on Friday he was not planning an overhaul of his squad once the transfer window re-opens, but the Daily Star Sunday claims the futures of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Nemanja Matic are all uncertain because of a mixture of poor form and interest from other clubs.

Matic is ‘under pressure to improve or be sold on’, the Star says, while Hazard and Oscar are said to be targets for Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus respectively.

Costa, meanwhile, could return to Atletico Madrid as part of a swap deal involving Antoine Griezmann – one of four forwards the tabloid claims are on Chelsea’s list of targets.

The other three are PSG’s Edinson Cavani, Marseille’s Michy Batshuayi and West Brom’s Saido Berahino, but the Sun on Sunday puts forward a different name, claiming the Blues are planning a £20million January offer for Aubameyang with Jose Mourinho keen to sign two new forwards.

TEAMtalk view

Is Mourinho really happy to stick with the same squad for the rest of the season or is the Chelsea boss in fact planning the sort of overhaul the Daily Star Sunday suggests?

The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Diego Costa’s goal against Norwich City on Saturday is unlikely to have convinced Mourinho that Chelsea have the strike power required to secure a Champions League place, but it would be an enormous surprise to see any of Costa, Hazard, Oscar or Matic moved on January.