Chelsea see £34m bid for 'new top striker target' rejected

Chelsea have seen a €40m (£34m) bid for Atletico Madrid striker Samu Omorodion rejected, a report has revealed.

The Blues are on the hunt for a new striker this summer and, after months of chasing Napoli's Victor Osimhen, have decided they want a cheaper signing, with the Nigerian's release clause of over £100m believed to be too high.

Aston Villa's Jhon Duran is also of serious interest, but Gianluca Di Marzio was the first to reveal that Chelsea have moved 20-year-old Omorodion, who spent last season on loan at Alaves from Atletico, to the top of their wish list.

Links with Omorodion were later backed up by a number of sources, with Fabrizio Romano going one step further to reveal Chelsea had seen a formal bid of an initial €30m, with add-ons to take the deal up to €40m turned down.

Atletico are said to have no desire to part ways with Omorodion, who has four years left on his contract and will return to the club this summer after scoring nine goals in 35 games with Alaves.

Reports on Omorodion's release clause at Atletico have differed, but most have agreed that the value sits at somewhere between €90m (£76m) and €100m (£85m).

Interestingly, Chelsea's interest in Omorodion emerged shortly after Relevo tipped Atletico to try and sign midfielder Conor Gallagher this summer.

Villa striker Duran remains a target after interest was reignited during contact from Villa over Gallagher's availability.

Villa are also keen on left-back Ian Maatsen but will only pursue a Chelsea player if they can sell Duran to the Blues, who continue to value Maatsen at his £35m release clause.