Chelsea consider signing Andy Carroll on loan to fix goalscoring crisis

Chelsea will this week step up their efforts to try to boost head coach Antonio Conte’s striking options with a shock move for Andy Carroll still a possibility.

Conte’s team became the first in Chelsea’s history to chalk up three successive goalless draws in all competitions as they still seek a first victory in 2018.

The form and fitness of Alvaro Morata, who has now gone five games without a goal, and Eden Hazard, who has been substituted in each of the last four games he has started, is becoming a cause for concern.

Conte wanted to add a target man to his squad last summer, but saw Fernando Llorente move to Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The need for a striker who can relieve the burden on Morata is now even more pressing, as Conte continues to make it clear that he does not see Michy Batshuayi as the right man.

Sevilla want to sign Batshuayi on loan, but must wait for Chelsea to find a replacement and the club will intensify their efforts to find either a short-term or long-term solution.

Conte would love to make a move for Alexis Sanchez, but it seems Manchester United and City will battle for the Arsenal forward which has forced him to consider alternative options.

Carroll is the surprise name on the list of strikers Chelsea have held talks over and may yet prove to be the most attainable this month, while Conte is also an admirer of Red Star Belgrade’s Richmond Boakye and Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke.

It is believed Chelsea are currently interested in taking Carroll on loan from West Ham United, which may not suit the Hammers who could sell strikers Diafra Sakho and Javier Hernandez.

West Ham would be interested in taking Batshuayi on a loan exchange, but, even if they cannot persuade the Belgian to move to the London Stadium, the Hammers might be tempted into getting Carroll, who earns £90,000-a-week, off their wage bill.

Carroll has only started three games under David Moyes and wants to play more regularly after scoring twice in the victory over West Bromwich Albion at the start of the year.

He missed West Ham’s victory over Huddersfield Town with an ankle injury and ongoing concerns over his ability to stay fit could yet put Chelsea off.

But Chelsea and Conte either need to pay big to land a striker or take a gamble on somebody like Carroll to help relieve some of the pressure on Morata and Hazard. The Blues are also looking for a left-sided player in the remaining weeks of the transfer window.

Morata and Hazard have been out of sorts of late and yet Conte clearly feels he has little option but to keep starting them, Batshuayi did not even get off the substitutes’ bench against Leicester as Pedro and Willian were sent on ahead of him.

January 2018 transfer window

The Stamford Bridge crowd booed when Hazard was taken off in the 58th minute. But Conte has defended his decisions, even though he admitted that he may have made a mistake by starting Morata and Hazard as a front two so soon after the goalless Carabao Cup draw with Arsenal.

Conte said: “I saw many players tired, but don't forget we played a massive game on Wednesday night against Arsenal and then I decided to pick the same formation after two-and-a-half days, and maybe I made a mistake because many players didn't recover from this effort.

“When you face all competitions, when you are very good to go to the next round, reach the semi-final of one trophy, play the FA Cup competition, to play the League and then the Champions League, I think you must have a big squad to face every game.”

Asked to respond to the Chelsea fans booing his decision to take off Hazard and the result at the final whistle, Conte replied: “We are giving 120 per cent and we want to try to do our best.

“I repeat you can win, you can lose, but the most important thing is to put all your strength on the pitch and you have to consider we are facing a lot of problems and, despite this, we stay there (in the top four).”

Despite having Ben Chilwell sent off for his second bookable offence with just over 20 minutes remaining, Leicester could have won the match during a first half in which they had 12 shots at Chelsea’s goal – the most at half-time of any visiting Premier League team since the 2003/04 season.

Riyad Mahrez was superb for Leicester, but manager Claude Puel is hoping the Algeria international’s good form will not see him move away this month.

Puel said: “Of course, we are in the transfer window and it’s normal for all the best players [to be linked with transfers], but I’m not afraid about this because there’s a fantastic spirit and good attitude in this squad.

“He (Mahrez) has a fantastic influence on the team, he’s a valuable player for the team, like Jamie (Vardy) or other players, like Kasper (Schmeichel) also.

“We have some good players and good speculation with them. We can see he (Mahrez) is enjoying his football, we can see he is happy with his team-mates and with us. It’s important for us of course to keep our best players.”