Chelsea have been linked with a number of strikers in the last few transfer windows.
There is a feeling around Stamford Bridge that there is too much of a burden on Tammy Abraham’s shoulders, especially with Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi expected to leave the club this summer.
The Blues were linked with moves for Dries Mertens, Edinson Cavani, Timo Werner and Moussa Dembele during the January transfer window, with Werner and Dembele likely to crop up again this summer.
However, there was one other name that cropped up on a regular basis and it was the player the Chelsea fans were most desperate for the club to sign – Mauro Icardi.
The Argentinian had been linked in the summer transfer window, when Chelsea were hit with a transfer ban by FIFA, and he again came up in January, despite having gone on loan to Paris Saint-Germain from Inter Milan in September.
Controversy has surrounded Icardi wherever he has been, and his wife and agent Wanda Nara reportedly terminated his loan deal with PSG this week, with the striker set to return to Italy. However, his time in Serie A may also be coming to an end. And that could prove to be a timely boost for Chelsea if they were to follow up with their interest.
The Blues have been linked with Icardi’s Inter team-mate Lautaro Martinez, but he looks set to stay at the San Siro, while Icardi is being prepared for the exit door. Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti was asked whether Icardi had a future at the San Siro this week and he said: “I don’t know, I don’t think so.”