David Ornstein drops Chelsea transfer bombshell as 'contact made' over stunning January deal

The Athletic journalist David Ornstein has dropped a major transfer bombshell involving Chelsea.

It has been a decent start to life under Enzo Maresca for Chelsea as they currently sit fourth in the Premier League table. The Blues are four points behind Nottingham Forest and Arsenal and are 10 adrift of leaders Liverpool.

However, in recent weeks, slip-ups against the likes of Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Fulham and Everton have seen their hopes of winning the Premier League fade away.

With the January transfer window now in full swing, it has been claimed that Chelsea have made contact to sign a new striker.

Chelsea 'make contact' over stunning January transfer deal

As reported by Ornstein, Chelsea have enquired about signing Bayern Munich star Mathys Tel.

The report stated: "The Premier League club have made contact with their Bundesliga counterparts to explore a move, with Bayern interested in signing Christopher Nkunku in a separate deal.

"At this stage there are no guarantees that Tel will move to Stamford Bridge, but the west London club’s interest in the player is long standing and pre-dates this transfer window."

19-year-old Tel has found it tough to nail down a regular starting spot in Vincent Kompany's team having only managed 351 minutes of football across 12 matches in all competitions.

In addition, the Frenchman has so far failed to score or register an assist this season.

Mathys Tel has been linked with a move to Chelsea. Image: Getty

Tel joined Bayern from French side Rennes back in 2022 for a reported fee of €28.5 million. Since then, he has played 81 matches and scored 16 goals.

The striker became the club's youngest-ever goal scorer after netting his first goal against Viktoria Cologne at the age of just 17, beating the previous record which was held by Jamal Musiala.

What has Vincent Kompany said about Mathys Tel?

Earlier in the season, Bayern boss Kompany said of Tel: "Let me say that we really believe in Mathys Tel.

"Mathys has great talent. We have a team with a lot of competition. That's good, but we see great future for him."

Bayern are back in action on Wednesday night when they take on Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.