Chelsea reignite interest in Ballon d’Or winner and Liverpool legend; £51m striker also on Blues’ list

Mauricio Pochettino wants to add a quality striker to his Chelsea squad this summer and has reportedly identified three exciting options.

As exclusively revealed by TEAMtalk, Napoli superstar Victor Osimhen is Pochettino’s top target but the Blues could miss out on him amid interest from Paris Saint-Germain as they look to replace Kylian Mbappe.

Chelsea are now scouring the market for alternatives and reports from Brazil suggest that they could return for two January window targets.

According to O Dia, iconic veteran strikers Karim Benzema and Roberto Firmino are being considered by the Blues’ hierarchy, amid rumours the duo are unhappy in Saudi Arabia.

Benzema was desperate to return to Europe last month but his wages of around £3.3m per week made a move impossible. Chelsea, Arsenal and Lyon were all linked with the Al Ittihad star at the time.

He won the Ballon d’Or in 2022 for his role in helping Real Madrid win the Champions League and LaLiga but isn’t enjoying his football in Saudi.

Firmino, who joined Al-Ahli last summer, was also linked with a move to Chelsea in January. It’s thought that the former Liverpool forward also wants to return to Europe.

O Dia suggests that Chelsea are ready to reignite their pursuit of the two experienced strikers at the end of the season.

READ MORE: Tottenham seething as Chelsea line up mind-blowing bid for ‘unhappy’ Harry Kane

Chelsea consider move for Brazilian striker Pedro

Firmino and Benzema aren’t the only Osimhen alternatives Chelsea have their eye on, however, with Flamengo striker Pedro also on their shortlist.

O Dia writes that Chelsea are ‘interested’ in the talented 26-year-old. He has scored five goals in five games for the Brazilian giants and his performances have caught the attention of several clubs.

The report claims that Pedro has a €60m (£51m) release clause in his contract – which runs until 2027 – but Flamengo will consider offers in the region of €25m (£21m).

The forward joined Flamengo in 2020 and has made 221 appearances in total for them, scoring 107 goals and making 23 assists in the process. This gives him an impressive average of 0.59 goal contributions per game.

Premier League football would obviously be a big step up for Pedro but if he could replicate his current form in England, he could prove to be a valuable addition for Chelsea.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea focus their efforts on Benzema, Firmino or Pedro if they do miss out on Osimhen in the summer.

DON’T MISS: Chelsea eye £150m Serie A superstar as Victor Osimhen alternative; face familiar foe in transfer battle