Chelsea are ready to consider a shock move for Liverpool legend Sadio Mane after his Bayern Munich transfer turned sour, sources have told Football Insider.
The west Londoners are in the market for a new forward this summer but are hamstrung by financial fair play regulations and the lack of top-class and potentially available number nines in world football.
Chelsea have been heavily criticised for spending nearly £600million on new signings since the Todd Boehly-led takeover last summer.
But those close to the club point out the difficulty in sourcing marquee strikers of the right age and profile.
That is partly what led them to signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last summer in a deal that has notably failed to come off.
Napoli star Victor Osimhen has been watched regularly but the cost of the deal – he would be well in excess of £100million – means that is not very unlikely.
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Mane is now believed to be on the radar of Chelsea after a wretched season at Bayern that is expected to end with a summer transfer.
His much-publicised dressing room bust-up with Leroy Sane means the German giants will listen to offers for him this summer and a return to the Premier League is a strong possibility.
As revealed by Football Insider last week, Liverpool have no plans to re-sign the club legend as their priority is strengthening in midfield and defence.
Chelsea will look at the possibility of luring Mane from Bayern, who want to recoup most of the £27million rising to £35m with add-ons paid to Liverpool last summer.
Mane, who turned 31 last week, is two years younger than Aubameyang and is able play in multiple forward roles, including at centre-forward and on the left flank.
He made 269 appearances for Liverpool that yielded 120 goals and 49 assists from all competitions, and left his supporters wanting more after quitting on the back of arguably his finest campaign at the club.
Mane banged in 23 goals last season and was particularly outstanding in the final months of the season in a new centre-forward role as Klopp's side chased the quadruple.
In Germany, he made a fine start with 11 goals by October but has not scored since then and his career reached a nadir when he punched Sane in the dressing room after the Champions League defeat to Man City.
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