Chelsea plot spectacular raid of England star, bringing super Euro 2024 link-up to London

Chelsea are reportedly keen to bring an England star forward to Stamford Bridge this summer, putting him alongside Cole Palmer to continue a fabulous international link-up at club level.

The Blues have left a lot to be desired in forward areas other than through Palmer of late. In his first full season in the Premier League, and first at Stamford Bridge, the Englishman netted 22 goals, along with three in other competitions.

His tally of 25 was eight ahead of striker Nicolas Jackson, who missed a host of big chances throughout the season.

Fellow striker Christopher Nkunku was nowhere to be seen up the top of the Chelsea goals list, owing to a long-term injury after he joined the club.

Yet the Londoners still managed a sixth-placed finish, and with a better strike force, they could hit the heights of the Premier League yet again.

The Blues now have their eye on a fantastic English attacker to help that happen.

According to a report, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is their latest striker target.

Indeed, it’s believed Enzo Maresca feels the forward, who bagged 19 league goals last season, is an upgrade on current central striker Jackson.

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Villa will demand huge Watkins fee

In four seasons in the top flight, Watkins has never failed to score 10 goals, and he’s been most prolific in his last two seasons, showing he can continue on the up.

But Villa will make it difficult for Chelsea to snare the striker.

Indeed, it’s reported the Villans will demand an excessive fee, given how central he is to their side.

Still, it’s said the Blues are expected to make an approach for Watkins once his exploits with England at the Euros are done with.

Whether they’ll be successful in their approach given Villa’s stern stance remains to be seen, but they’re no strangers to spending huge sums to secure players they really want.

Watkins and Palmer could continue super link-up

It’s of little surprise to see Chelsea in the mix for Watkins given how he and Palmer linked up in the Euro semi-final against the Netherlands.

Watkins said he told the Blues man they would “come off the bench and he’d assist me.”

And that is exactly how the Three Lions reached the final. The pair were introduced after 80 minutes, and 10 minutes later, Palmer slotted a ball through to Watkins, who turned and struck it across goal and into the bottom corner to make it 2-1 to England.

The Chelsea man later spoke of knowing where Watkins was going to run, and the chemistry between them would help the Blues a lot if they were to play up top together for them.

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