Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin has warned the club to avoid signing Karim Benzema on a short-term deal.
Benzema has been linked with a move to the Premier League after failing to settle at Al-Itthad, with the French forward excluded from the Saudi side’s training camp in Dubai this month.
The 36-year-old joined the Saudi Pro League champions from Real Madrid in the summer and has scored 15 goals in 24 appearances this season.
Benzema is reportedly unhappy in the Middle East, however, and has been mentioned as a potential option for Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, who are each considering signing a centre-forward this month.
However, Nevin believes the West Londoners should target a long-term option and has named Brighton’s Evan Ferguson as a potential signing.
“How many times have Chelsea gone down that route of signing an experienced striker. You think of the certain strikers that Chelsea have signed in the latter stages of their career, the likes of Shevchenko, I could go through a number of them,” Nevin told OCB Scores.
“They’re all brilliant but very few of them scored a lot of goals for the club.
“On the other hand, if you are creating a number of chances which Chelsea are, maybe you just need someone who can put the ball in the net. It’s such a short termist thing and it’s so against what the ethos has been from the club. It would be surprising but does it mean it won’t happen? Absolutely not.
“It would be interesting but Evan Ferguson would be the more obvious one to go for. If you’re going down the route of signing a young striker, Ferguson would be the one I would look at. Someone is needed upfront because when we’re asking Cole Palmer, Chelsea’s best player, to play upfront with his back to goal, of course he can do it but you’re putting your best player out of position.”
