Antonio Conte’s quest for a new striker continues, if only reportedly.
In the last couple of weeks, the Chelsea boss has been linked with moves for a number of different frontmen, all of which fitting the ‘target man’ description.
West Ham’s Andy Carroll has had a mention, as has Roma’s Edin Dzeko. During last week, all six foot seven inches of Peter Crouch was also said to have been attracting Chelsea interest, much to the amusements of football fans up and down the land.
Michy Batshuayi is handed a rare start for Chelsea today. Antonio Conte's still hoping to add one of Edin Dzeko, Andy Carroll, Peter Crouch, Nikola Zigic or Big Bird off Sesame Street to his squad this month.
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 20, 2018
With days remaining in the January transfer window, we’ve now learned of a new name that may be set for a move to Stamford Bridge: Burnley’s Ashley Barnes.
According to Sky Sports’ trusty sources, Conte is very much interested in signing Barnes – another plus-six foot striker – to help bolster his striking options. The 28-year-old has scored four times for Sean Dyche’s men this season, the most recent of those goals coming in the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup third round.
SKY SOURCES: @ChelseaFC interested in signing @BurnleyOfficial striker Ashley Barnes. #SSN pic.twitter.com/T5SqVfqwq8
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 21, 2018
Chelsea remain third in the Premier League after their 4-0 victory away at Brighton on Saturday afternoon. Although the win took them level on points with Manchester United for a short while, Jose Mourinho’s side later defeated Barnes’ Burnley at Turf Moor.