Chelsea have reportedly registered an interest in signing Clermont Foot striker Mohamed Bayo, who is also a transfer for Brighton & Hove Albion.
According to a report from Calciomercato, Chelsea have joined fellow Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion in the race to sign Guinean striker Mohamed Bayo from Ligue 1 side Clermont Foot.
Having come through the youth ranks at the club, Bayo made his first-team debut back in 2017 at the age of 19. He had an eighteen-month loan spell with outfit USL Dunkerque between January 2019 and June 2020, during which he plundered 16 goals and six assists from 36 games.
Upon returning, Bayo has become a regular in the starting XI for Clermont Foot. To date, the 23-year-old has featured 57 times for the French club in all competitions, scoring 28 goals and setting up nine more. The striker broke into the Guinean national team in March earlier this year and has two goals in five games.
The 23-year-old’s exploits have earned him admirers in the Premier League, with West Ham United seemingly interested in signing him. In addition to the Hammers, Brighton & Hove Albion are also keen on signing Bayo, with Chelsea also now entering the fray for the signature of the Guinean forward.
Chelsea strengthened their attack with the transfer of superstar Romelu Lukaku in a club-record deal. The Belgian made a blistering start to life back in west London, but has endured a goal drought of late. Furthermore, he also picked up an ankle injury recently.
The Blues’ second-choice striker, Timo Werner, has struggled to produce the goods in front of goal since signing last year. He, too, picked up an injury along with Lukaku in Chelsea’s recent 4-0 victory over Malmo in the UEFA Champions League.
Having sold both Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud, Chelsea can do with another option upfront even though Kai Havertz can play in the centre-forward position. Bayo, to that end, can be a viable option to provide cover to the two main strikers in Lukaku and Werner and allow manager Thomas Tuchel to rotate his troops better and rest his frontline stars for low-tier games.
However, it remains to be seen if a move for the 23-year-old does materialise, especially with Brighton likely to offer him more prospects of regular game-time.
