Chelsea are reportedly preparing to step up their interest in FC Copenhagen attacker Roony Bardghji, who has been dubbed the 'Swedish Lionel Messi'.
The 19-year-old memorably burst onto the scene during the 2023-24 Champions League campaign, scoring one of his side's four goals in their momentous 4-3 group-stage win over Manchester United.
Bardghji ended last season with a respectable total of 10 goals from 36 appearances across all competitions, but he missed the final portion of the campaign with a severe ACL injury.
The Kuwait-born teenager has now been sidelined for a total of nine months with the issue, but he is now in the latter stages of his recovery and is thought to be on track to return before the end of the month.
Bardghji's devastating blow has apparently not affected interest in his services, as Copenhagen could soon find themselves in a tricky situation with the 19-year-old, whose contract expires in December.
Chelsea 'readying move' for Copenhagen's Bardghji
© IconSport
According to TBR Football, Chelsea are just one of 14 clubs who are keeping a close eye on the teenager's development, but they are now hoping to steal a march on their rivals by making the first move.
The report claims that the Blues are showing the 'strongest interest' of any potential suitors, a list that also includes Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Spurs apparently enquired about the attacker's availability in January 2024, only to be knocked back by Copenhagen's £21.5m asking price, but the Danish side may now have to relent on their demands given that he is in the final year of his contract.
Across Europe, Barcelona and Bayern Munich represent two alternative heavyweight options for Bardghji, who also has admirers at Marseille, Atalanta BC, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid and Juventus.
Bardghji - a Sweden Under-21 international - boasts a total of 15 goals and one assist in 78 appearances for Copenhagen in all competitions, largely playing off the right but also demonstrating his competence through the middle.
Are Chelsea still failing to address glaring transfer problem?
© Imago
If as many as 14 top-level European clubs are after Bardghji, the 'Swedish Messi' label may not be entirely inaccurate, and Chelsea will always aggressively pursue top young talent while Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are at the helm.
However, for at least the past three transfer windows, the Blues have always seemed to follow the same theme; stockpiling wingers and other positions while failing to address their glaring issues in the centre-forward slot.
Such shortages were exposed in Saturday's FA Cup showdown with Brighton & Hove Albion, where Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu both missed out through injury as the Blues fell to a 2-1 fourth-round defeat.
Furthermore, Chelsea's goal on the day only came about thanks to a Bart Verbruggen howler, and Christopher Nkunku - who has been linked with a move away - seemingly does not have the profile of an out-and-out centre-forward.
Jackson has started to come into his own at Chelsea, but Guiu is far from the finished article and could now be out for months, so this summer surely has to be the summer where Chelsea pursue that big-money number nine.
Ben Knapton
