The striker position has become a problem for Chelsea in recent weeks due to Joao Pedro’s injury.

Pedro is one of the best centre-forwards in the Premier League, but he has now missed Chelsea’s last three top-flight games following Sunday’s loss to Sunderland.

Xabi Alonso has veteran striker Danny Welbeck, but he has opted to go with Pedro Neto and Morgan Rogers in the No.9 position instead. If he continues to overlook Welbeck, it is quite clear that Chelsea will need to sign a new frontman in January.

Using a false 9 has just not worked out for Alonso. But who could the Blues possibly target in the transfer market? Here are a few names they have recently been linked with.

Name: Nicolo Tresoldi

Club: Club Brugge

Country: Germany Under-21s

Age: 22

Height: 6’1″

Preferred foot: Right

One striker who has been linked with a move to Chelsea is Club Brugge’s Nicolo Tresoldi. Germany manager Jurgen Klopp is a huge fan of Tresoldi, and it is not hard to see why.

Tresoldi has been in excellent form this season and has already scored 14 goals in all competitions after making 17 appearances. Five of his goals have come in the Champions League, including a hat-trick against Inter Milan.

He is performing at the top level and has also earned 27 caps for the Germany Under-21 national team. Across those caps, the Club Brugge star has scored 16 times. Tresoldi may be young, but he is already a goalscorer.

Club: Palmeiras

Country: Brazil

Age: 21

Height: 5’8″

Preferred foot: Right

Vitor Roque has been a target for Chelsea in the past, and it seems as though the young Brazilian is still on their radar. Roque has been linked to the Blues once again, and his agent never downplayed those links when they were brought up in a recent interview.

Roque has had some injury trouble this year, limiting his impact in the Brazilian league. He has scored just five goals in 20 appearances.

Compared to Tresoldi, Roque is probably a much bigger gamble. He found European football tough after spells at Barcelona and Real Betis, while his height could be a bit of an issue in the Premier League.

Name: Paris Brunner

Club: AS Monaco

Country: Germany Under-21s

Age: 20

Height: 6’1″

Preferred foot: Right

Paris Brunner has been clinical for AS Monaco this season, scoring four goals in eight Ligue 1 appearances. He also scored in both of Monaco’s Conference League qualifiers and has since gone on to find the back of the net in the league phase of the competition.

Like Tresoldi, Brunner is also a Germany U21 international. He has three caps to his name and two goals.

A young and promising forward, he obviously fits into Chelsea’s transfer strategy. While the Blues may hold some interest in Brunner, their relationship with Monaco following Lamine Camara’s failed move to Stamford Bridge could complicate things.

Name: Gustavo Varela

Club: Monza

Country: Portugal Under-21s

Age: 21

Height: 6’0″

Preferred foot: Right

Gustavo Varela only joined Monza in the summer, so the Italian club will not want to sell him so quickly. But with the way he is playing, interest from Chelsea and others is inevitable.

Varela has scored 11 goals in as many games for Monza this season. In Serie A, he has a record of nine goals in 10 outings.

The Portugal Under-21 international has been efficient. Would he want to risk his development by joining Chelsea and playing second fiddle to Pedro? Probably not, and the same can be said about the other names above, as they are also young forwards.

If Alonso is not going to put his trust in Welbeck or Emmanuel Emegha, though, Chelsea will have to buy someone at some point.