Ben Guest
What do Fernando Llorente, Andy Carroll, Peter Crouch and Edin Dzeko have in common? No it’s not the start of some lame joke. All four have been linked with a move to Chelsea in the last few weeks.
Antonio Conte tried to sign Llorente in the summer, but was left disappointed after he made a deadline day move to London rivals Tottenham. The Spaniard has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge once again in recent weeks after struggling to make a significant impact.
They were then linked with a £20m move for West Ham striker Andy Carroll, although the latest in a long series of injuries put the brakes on that particular deal.
After that came the links with Dzeko, and the even more surprising links to Peter Crouch.
While the links to Crouch seem far fetched, the latest rumours have been that Dzeko is a very realistic option for the Blues, who have submitted a €50m offer for the Bosnian and his Roma teammate Emerson Palmieri.
Despite the possibility of signing Dzeko, the Blues are still being linked with more strikers, with two more surprise names having been thrown into the hat.
Sky Sports have claimed that Burnley striker Ashley Barnes has caught the eye of Antonio Conte, with the striker fitting with the profile of a strong and tall centre forward that he is looking for.
Elsewhere, the Mail on Sunday claim that Chelsea have made a loan approach to sign Leicester City striker Islam Slimani. Slimani has struggled since his club record move from Sporting Lisbon to Leicester in 2016, scoring just eight Premier League Goals in his 18 month spell in England.