Chelsea hold talks with Montpellier over exciting young French striker

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Chelsea hold talks with Montpellier over exciting young French striker

Chelsea have met with Montpellier to discuss a possible summer move for 20-year-old striker Elye Wahi, 90min understands.

Wahi enjoyed a breakout season in Ligue 1 last year, racking up 19 goals - good enough for seventh in the division's scoring charts - while also chipping in with a further six assists.

That form has, unsurprisingly, caught the eyes of a number of teams across Europe and 90min understands representatives of Chelsea's BlueCo ownership group have spoken to Montpellier over a potential deal for Wahi.

At this point, it is unclear whether Wahi is seen as a target for Chelsea or the newest club in the BlueCo family, fellow Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, who have just appointed Patrick Vieira as their new manager. Vieira is understood to have been involved in conversations about Wahi since joining.

In England, Wahi has also been tracked by Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Wolves, while Lazio and Union Berlin are known admirers in mainland Europe.

However, it is Eintracht Frankfurt who are seen as the biggest competitors for Wahi's signature, with the Bundesliga side seeing him as a potential replacement for Randal Kolo Muani if the in-demand forward moves elsewhere.

A source close to Wahi has confirmed to 90min that the striker is intrigued by the idea of moving to Frankfurt, where fellow Frenchman Kolo Muani exploded into a €100m target for a handful of European giants.

Over the weekend, Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin confessed to Midi Libre that 'a German and an English club' are battling for Wahi's signature, ultimately declining to reveal their identities.

Chelsea have already bolstered their forward line with the signings of Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson but are understood to remain in the market for another striker.

An enquiry has been made over Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, in which Romelu Lukaku's name was mentioned, but Chelsea continue to evaluate all their options.