Chelsea have added Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres to their list of targets ahead of the January transfer window, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

Writing in his Substack column (via Caught Offside), Phillips suggested that the Swedish international is being considered if they can’t secure the services of either Brentford’s Ivan Toney or Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.

Gyokeres only joined Sporting from Coventry City for €24m (£20.6m) back in July but he has had an excellent start to life at the Portuguese club.

The 25-year-old has racked up 15 goals and provided 7 assists in only 18 appearances, and that form has unsurprisingly grabbed the attention of scouts.

Chelsea will face competition from other Premier League clubs for the player

It was reported in the Portuguese press last week that Arsenal have been keeping close tabs on Gyokeres’s progress this season.

While the Gunners are not expected to make a formal bid for the 25-year-old in January, they are said to be weighing up an approach ahead of next summer. Chelsea may, therefore, have a better chance of signing him if they make their move next month.

Gyokeres will not be sold on the cheap

When the forward made the move to Sporting, he signed a contract that included a €100m (£86m) release clause. Considering that the Portuguese side will also owe Coventry 10% to 15% of the profit from any future sale, there is no possibility that he will be offloaded for a low price.

Gyokeres may still end up costing less than either Toney or Osimhen but his valuation is unlikely to be significantly lower. That is probably why the Swede is only seen as a fallback option, rather than a serious alternative, at this stage. Depending on how things go in January, though, he may still emerge as a top target for the Blues.