Chelsea fall behind in the race for Moussa Dembele

According to the Daily Star, Chelsea have fallen behind Manchester United in the race to sign Lyon striker Moussa Dembele.

The Red Devils are increasingly confident of getting their man, having scouted him extensively over the past few months. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has sent scouts to watch Dembele at least three times in the last six months and is keen to convince him to make a switch to Old Trafford.

Dembele has enjoyed an excellent season at the Groupama Stadium and has scored 22 goals and assisted 7 in 42 appearances.

Tammy Abraham has established himself as the first-choice striker under Frank Lampard. With Michy Batshuayi woefully out of form and Oliver Giroud out of contract this summer, bringing in a striker is key.

The major drawback in our pursuit is likely to come from the player himself. According to the report, Dembele is keen on making the switch to Manchester over a return to London.

The 23-year-old has experience of playing in England, having made more than 150 appearances for Fulham and Celtic. A clinical finisher, his best is yet to come.

Lyon are resigned to losing a number of their stars owing to their failure of qualifying for Europe next season. Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has already accepted that he may have no other choice but to sell. (h/t Daily Star)

More Chelsea News

• Chelsea open talks with Juventus over Jorginho
• Frank Lampard and Marina Granovskaia disagree on signing Andre Onana
• Chelsea identify Robin Gosens as Ben Chilwell alternative

It is unfortunate that we have apparently missed out on a promising striker. He would have added competition and numbers to our attack going into the new season.

We will hopefully keep United at bay in the race for fourth place. A return to the Champions League will strengthen us in our ability to attract players in the summer.