Former Championship star not a priority for Chelsea

Chelsea will have to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Middlesbrough on Tuesday evening if they are to reach the Carabao Cup final. 

The Championship side took a shock lead in the tie after the first leg at The Riverside a fortnight ago, and Mauricio Pochettino’s team must now overturn Boro’s advantage if they are to book their place at Wembley.

The Blues have endured a difficult season so far and are currently in ninth place in the Premier League table, with it looking increasingly unlikely that they will reach the top four and qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Ahead of the game at Stamford Bridge, it appears that a former Championship striker has fallen down Chelsea’s list of transfer targets.

According to Football Insider, Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres isn’t currently high up on the list of transfer targets being considered by the West London club.

Gyokeres, 25, scored an impressive 43 goals in 116 matches for the Sky Blues across all competitions, before departing to join Sporting last summer.

Since arriving in Portugal, the Swede has netted 22 times in 25 games, as well as providing ten assists.

Gyokeres isn’t currently one of Chelsea’s top transfer targets

That form has attracted interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, and Chelsea had been touted as a possible destination for the striker if he were to leave his current side.

The Sweden international is said to have a release clause of £86 million in his current contract, which is set to expire in 2028.

Chelsea have been put off by the Portuguese side’s insistence on that fee being met, the report claims.

If he were to be sold, Gyokeres’ former club Coventry would be due a sell-on fee as part of the deal that took the player to Lisbon last summer.