Dembele would be a ‘magnificent signing’ for Chelsea – Hasselbaink

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has urged Chelsea to try and sign Lyon striker Moussa Dembele in the January transfer window.

The Blues were unable to bring in any new players over the summer due to a FIFA-imposed transfer ban, but after seeing those sanctions lifted in December, Frank Lampard is free to make changes to his squad in the winter market.

Chelsea have relied heavily upon the talents of first choice forward Tammy Abraham since the start of the season, with Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud restricted to back up roles.

Abraham has hit 12 goals in 20 Premier League outings, but Lampard has been tipped to bring in another frontman to provide extra competition for the England international.

Dembele is thought to be near the top of his list of targets, despite the fact Lyon are determined to keep hold of a prized asset until at least the end of the season.

Former QPR boss Hasselbaink witnessed Dembele’s talent up close while he was on Fulham‘s books in the Championship, and thinks he would be a “magnificent signing” for Chelsea if a deal can be pushed over the line this month.

“Chelsea need to make new signings because you have to keep the rhythm going and just to get some kind of new blood coming through the door,” the ex-Blues striker told the Daily Mail. “It is always good when you make a signing. It gives everybody new energy, you know?

“Obviously Tammy Abraham is doing really well but he is the only one really who is doing really well. Batshuayi is not making a difference. Giroud, I think, he does not really fit in with their plans.

“They need to get a striker in. Moussa Dembele would be a magnificent signing for Chelsea. I know Moussa quite well. I faced him when I was QPR manager, he played ever so well and killed my defence.

“He has developed himself extremely well. He went to Celtic and played at a big club where the atmosphere and the pressure is there of winning. You have to win every match.

“Having already tasted that and gone through that pressure, and if Chelsea buy him, he is familiar with that.

“When you are at Chelsea, you have to be able to handle the pressure of winning things and he has shown at Celtic he can do that. More importantly, he is a killer. He is a goalscorer. He lives for goals.

“He scores goals in different ways, with his head, with his feet, left and right. He is quick, he is strong, he can still improve, he is still very young.”

Hasselbaink went on to express his belief that Lampard is capable of turning Dembele into an even better player, while insisting that Abraham cannot shoulder Chelsea’s goalscoring burden on his own.

“Frank will improve him [Dembele] with Jody Morris, in his combination play, that can be better and improved,” Hasselbaink added.

“But what you can’t teach a player is being somewhere at the right time, and he has that a lot. Tammy has that as well, but at a big club, you have to have a couple of strikers who are really good. You need competition.”