Chelsea have now made £51m forward a top target, their London rivals wanted him badly last year - journalist

Chelsea face a battle against the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool for one forward this summer.

Mauricio Pochettino does have options in the attacking positions right now.

The Argentine has Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk to call upon.

However, there does seem to be a possibility of Sterling leaving Chelsea at the end of the season. The winger is thought to be attracting interest from MLS.

Things are not going well for Sterling at the moment. He had a game to forget against Leicester City over the weekend, missing a penalty and taking an atrocious free-kick. As a result, some Chelsea supporters booed him off the pitch.

If the 29-year-old does depart Stamford Bridge, PSV Eindhoven’s Johan Bakayoko could be an option to come in and fill the hole he leaves behind.

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Johan Bakayoko a top target for Chelsea

Journalist Patrick Berger has claimed on X that Bakayoko is a top target for some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Chelsea.

According to Berger, the Blues, City and Liverpool are all monitoring the 20-year-old, who could cost €60m (£51m).

This is not the first time that Bakayoko has been linked with a move to England. As per the Evening Standard, Chelsea’s west London rivals Brentford were willing to pay up to £34m for the Belgian in the 2023 summer transfer window.

It would have seen Bakayoko become the Bees’ record signing, showing how much they wanted him, but he rejected the move to the Gtech Community Stadium.

Could Johan Bakayoko potentially replace Noni Madueke?

Bakayoko is a right winger, so he would be a more like-for-like replacement for someone like Noni Madueke.

Because of his lack of game time this season, The Telegraph’s Matt Law has said he would be surprised if Chelsea prevented Madueke from leaving the club in the summer.

The 22-year-old has only made four starts in the Premier League under Pochettino.

However, he reminded everyone what he is capable of with an excellent goal against Leicester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals over the weekend. The Blues should not be too quick to get rid of him.