Chelsea are expected to make their “first offer” for Montpellier striker Elye Wahi “this week”, according to L’Equipe.

The French publication claims that the Blues first registered their interest “several days” ago and they are now contemplating a formal bid for the 20-year-old.

Wahi had an excellent season for Montpellier, scoring 19 goals in Ligue One; finishing seventh in the French top flight’s goalscoring charts.

Due to the fact that the forward is the club’s prized asset, Montpellier are demanding a club record fee of €30m (£26m) to sell him this summer.

The highest amount that they have received for a player in their history was the €16m that RB Leipzig paid for Nordi Mukiele five years ago.

Chelsea will have rivals for Wahi’s signature

L’Equipe report that Eintracht Frankfurt are also expected to make an offer to sign the Frenchman very soon, with the Bundesliga side having made him a “priority target”.

Wahi has received “proposals” from Bournemouth, Union Berlin and Lazio too, but the striker is not thought to be keen on joining any of those teams.

Arsenal and Newcastle have also been credited with an interest in the forward in the past and it remains to be seen whether they would enter the running if Chelsea do formalise their interest.

Alternative striker targets

Wahi is by no means the only number nine that the Blues have been linked with recently. In fact, L’Equipe mention that Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been looking at Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani as well.

The likes of Juventus’s Dusan Vlahovic and Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez are also on the club’s radar, but there is a feeling that the Blues may not end up spending big on a forward, which would explain why they are seriously considering Wahi as their main target at the moment.