Chelsea include Football Manager wonderkid on 'five-man striker transfer shortlist' for January

Chelsea have reportedly drawn up a five-man striker shortlist for the January transfer window that includes a Football Manager wonderkid.

Chelsea spent close to £500m in the summer, bringing in the likes of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Nicolas Jackson to bolster Mauricio Pochettino's squad.

But they have struggled so far this season and are currently 12th in the Premier League table, despite forward Jackson managing six goals in 15 league appearances.

The Standard claim Chelsea are set to head back into the market once more, this time in search of a new striker to lead the line in place of Jackson.

It is claimed that the west London club are closely watching FC Copenhagen's Roony Bardghji, a name familiar with players of Football Manager.

Others may already know of the teenager who hails from Kuwait, given his impressive cameo for the Danish outfit against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League earlier this season.

Having scored 11 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions for Jacob Neestrup's side in 2023/24, Bardghji's form has placed plenty of European clubs on high alert.

Nicknamed the 'Swedish Messi', it remains to be seen whether owner Todd Boehly will pull the trigger regarding a move for the youngster, with Pochettino's team faltering in front of goal so far this season.

Chelsea are monitoring Copenhagen striker Roony Bardghji (Image: Getty)

Manchester United and Real Madrid are also said to be keen on Bardghji, with his name continuing to prick up the ears amongst some of Europe's elite clubs.

The former Malmo youngster has also already represented Sweden's Under-21 side on nine previous occasions, making his debut aged just 16 years, 6 months and 18 days.

Brentford's Ivan Toney and Napoli's Victor Osimhen are also on Chelsea's five-man shortlist as well Club Brugge teenager Antonio Nusa, having had a £23m bid rejected for him on deadline day in the summer.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have added Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres to the list.

Gyokeres has scored 15 goals in 18 matches for Sporting this season after moving to Portugal from Coventry last summer.