Chelsea are interested in signing Moussa Dembele from Celtic, according to sources close to Sky Sports.
The Blues have had a relatively quiet transfer window so far but with a matter of hours to go, their attention has turned to the 20 year-old Frenchman. Celtic have said it would take a bid of at least £40 million for them to start thinking about selling the player but he is a player that manager Brendan Rogers wants to keep.
Knee scan
Conveniently for Chelsea, Dembele does happen to be in London today but the SPL leaders Celtic have confirmed he is only in the capital for a scan on a knee injury which kept him out of the 4-0 win over Hearts on Sunday.
A photo posted on Twitter earlier this morning of Dembele on a flight to London sparked a flurry of Tweets about the Frenchman's future. He has scored 20 goals in his debut season for the Bhoys since his £500,000 move from Fulham last summer, including a hat-trick in the 5-1 Old Firm derby victory over Rangers in September.
Moussa Dembele isn't the only Celtic player Chelsea have been linked with in this transfer window. The Blues have seen two bids rejected for goalkeeper Craig Gordon. The Scotland international is wanted as a replacement for Asmir Begovic, who is the subject of interest from AFC Bournemouth. But Chelsea manager Antonio Conte told journalists in his press conference on Friday that he does not want his substitute goalkeeper to leave: "I repeat that Begovic is a Chelsea player and I am very happy to have him in the squad.
I like his behaviour out on the pitch and he is important in the dressing room."
The Bosnian international is currently with Chelsea in the north-west of England as they prepare for tonight's match versus title rivals Liverpool. His failure to displace Thibaut Courtois as Chelsea's number one has seen him grow discontented with the amount of game time he has received this season, he has made just five appearances under Antonio Conte all of which have come in cup competitions.
Free transfer
In other transfer news for Chelsea, Inter Milan winger Jonathan Biabiany has rejected a loan move to Stamford Bridge after telling Inter officials he would rather hold out for a move to China. Meanwhile Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic is expected to complete his free transfer to Russian Premier League side Zenit St Petersburg before tonight's deadline.
Personal terms have been agreed and a medical is underway as Ivanovic's nine-year stay at Stamford Bridge comes to an end. He scored his 34th and final goal for the Blues in their 4-0 FA Cup win over Brentford on Saturday.
Chelsea go into tonight's game at Anfield eight points clear of Liverpool, who have only won once in their last seven games since the turn of the year. Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois are expected to be recalled by Antonio Conte whilst Liverpool midfielder Sadio Mane could be included in their squad following his return from the African Cup of Nations. The Senegalese missed his country's decisive penalty in their quarter final shootout loss to Cameroon.
Big Moussa on my flight to London.... Don't do it big man!!! #celtic #MoussaDembele pic.twitter.com/MyyWIUFE0i
— Guy Goma (@GuyGoma) January 31, 2017