“?Chelsea are being widely tipped to add another striker to their ranks before the end of the summer following a report from the Netherlands that 20-year-old rising star Bertrand Traore has left Stamford Bridge for a loan at Ajax.
According to De Telegraaf, the immensely talented Traore was at the very top of new Ajax coach Peter Bosz’s summer wish-list, while the player himself was apparently attracted by the opportunity to play Champions League football in Amsterdam.
Traore’s past experience in the Eredivisie is also believed to have played a part – he previously spent two seasons on loan at Chelsea feeder club Vitesse Arnhem while still a teenager, scoring 20 times in all competitions.
He is apparently already eligible to play for Ajax in next week’s Champions League playoff round tie against Russian club Rostov and arrives at the club as a replacement for Arkadiusz Milik who recently moved to Napoli to fill the shoes of Gonzalo Higuain.
What it means for Chelsea is that a new forward could yet arrive before the close of the transfer window later this month, with high profile names still linked with the club.
Antonio Conte currently only has Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi as his striker options with Loic Remy widely expected to leave, although even if he does stay the former QPR and Newcastle star is not likely to be a part of the plans.
The Italian coach has also toyed with the idea of using Ruben Loftus-Cheek up front.
A move for Alvaro Morata no longer seems possible unless there are drastic changes at Real Madrid in the remaining weeks of August, but Chelsea still remain hot on the trail of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, who is believed to feel there is ‘unfinished business’ in west London.
A move for the Belgian would, however, require a huge new club record fee with Everton thought to be asking for as much as £75m.
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