Reports | Chelsea make Olympique Lyon's Moussa Dembele their top summer target

Frank Lampard is on the lookout for attacking alternatives as both Michy Batshui and Olivier Giroud have been given game time miserly and though Lampard doesn’t doubt their quality, is not willing to weave his future plans around them. His go through man to lead the attacking charge is Tammy Abraham who has already scored 15 goals this season, but injuries here and there have troubled the England striker’s ambitions of consistent football. 

The Athletic have reported Chelsea’s interest in Lyon goal-machine Moussa Dembele, who the Blues boss believes is a fitting partner to Tammy Abraham. First priority Timo Werner’s leanings towards Liverpool are supposedly too strong to lure him to West London and Lampard has thus given up on the chase. Lyon are proud of their prized possession Dembele and have skyrocketed the asking price to £83m.

Reports indicate that it is partly because of Dembele's form, with him scoring 22 goals already this season, and partly because Lyon are hoping to sign the right replacement and change their team at the same time. The Blues had reportedly placed a bid in the region of around £40 million but they clearly need to push the boundary now.

Manchester United are also in the race for the French striker but have been impressed with loanee Odion Ighalo and might choose to make his move permanent and not indulge in Dembele’s saga.