In order to provide stiff competition for England international Tammy Abraham, Chelsea have identified Nigerian and Bordeaux striker Josh Maja as the perfect fit for the mission.
Chelsea manager is said to have instructed the club scouts to look for a young forward capable of providing competition for Abraham. The 20-year-old has bagged 11 Premier League goals in his first season as the Blues’ first-choice striker.
Now the Premier League side are set to make a move for Maja in the January window. In September, the striker was handed his maiden Super Eagles call-up by coach Gernot Rohr for their friendly against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, apart from Abraham, the Blues’ forwards such as Olivier Giroud and Mitchy Batshuayi have struggled for goals this season. Both senior strikers have proven to be reliable backups.
Also, Lampard has been left frustrated with other forwards like Pedro and Willian over their inability to score goals. And now that Chelsea’s transfer ban has been lifted they are free to look around to find some alternatives.
Since joining the Ligue side, Maja has been in superb form. He has managed seven goals in 23 appearances, only starting eight games. The striker has struggled to hold down a permanent place in Bordeaux’s starting lineup following his arrival from Sunderland in January 2019.
Maja left the Black Cats after rejecting a new contract and has impressed Chelsea scouts with his performance in France. The 20-year-old caught the eyes of the Blues officials during a 6-0 win over Nîmes Olympique, in which Maja managed three goals and an assist in just his third start of the season.
With his performance and the struggle to be in the starting line up, Maja has bagged five goals to steer Bordeaux up to seventh in Ligue 1. The striker could now be offered the chance to return to his hometown in January as the Blues look to bolster their squad.
Chelsea have been in miserable form of late, which has seen them lose four of their last five league games. Despite that, Lampard’s side still remains fourth in the league table.
