Chelsea Transfer News: Saido Berahino January Deal Eyed, Latest Blues Rumours

West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino has emerged as a potential January target for struggling Chelsea as Blues boss Jose Mourinho looks to salvage the club's stuttering season.

The defending Premier League champions have been woeful in the first 12 matches of the new term—they sit 16th having lost seven times—and reinforcements are desperately needed in the new year.

Per John Percy in the Telegraph, Englishman Berahino is a one of their main strike targets, and the Blues are considering lodging a £20 million bid.

Berahino would undoubtedly be open to a move away from the Hawthorns having responded angrily back in the summer when he was denied a move to Tottenham Hotspur, per MailOnline's Sami Mokbel and Laurie Whitwell.

While he has been reintegrated back into the West Brom side, a move to Chelsea would surely be too good an opportunity to pass up for the 22-year-old, whose contract with the Birmingham outfit expires in 2017.

Chelsea need added firepower in attack as their star forward from last term, Diego Costa, has gone off the boil somewhat of late, per Bleacher Report's Dean Jones:

Monaco loanee Radamel Falcao has been similarly disappointing and is reportedly set to depart Stamford Bridge in January, per Jason Burt in the Telegraph.

Berahino is an attractive target both because of his youth and the fact that he would boost Chelsea’s homegrown player quota.

However, it is unclear whether he has the talent to lead the line for Chelsea—a team who still have designs on competing for the Premier League and the Champions League despite their poor start to the season.

Berahino has proven he can score goals in the Premier League having netted 14 times for the Baggies in 2014-15, per WhoScored.com.

His consistency is questionable, though, and there is no guarantee that he would score goals immediately upon any prospective move to Stamford Bridge.

Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images

Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain, a proven and experienced goalscorer at a high level, would surely be a better addition to Chelsea's squad in January.

However, the west London club have been dealt a blow in their reported pursuit of the Argentine as his agent and brother, Nicolas Higuain, has said they are not looking to engineer a move away from Naples, per TuttoNapoli.net (via MailOnline's George Boulton):

"

We're doing really well with Napoli. I've been in Argentina for five months, I'm not travelling around the world trying to sell my brother. If tomorrow a club arrived and found an agreement with [club president Aurelio] De Laurentiis, it would be another matter and we would talk with him about it, but from our part that intention isn't there. We aren't planning a future elsewhere.

"

The arrival of Higuain, 27, at Chelsea in the winter window would surely inspire more confidence than buying Berahino, given his experience at the top level with Real Madrid and Napoli.

But he no longer looks to be a viable option and Chelsea may have to take a gamble on Berahino if they are to revive their miserable campaign.