Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Ashley Barnes and Islam Slimani

Chelsea are reportedly interested in Burnley striker Ashley Barnes and are also said to be keen on Leicester City's Islam Slimani.

Blues head coach Antonio Conte wants to bring in a target man and has inquired about Andy Carroll, Edin Dzeko, Fernando Llorente and Peter Crouch. The Italian has now turned his attention towards 28-year-old Barnes, per Lyall Thomas at Sky Sports.

Barnes has scored just three Premier League goals this season for the Clarets, and only eight of his 23 appearances have been starts.

WhoScored shows how he has struggled aerially:

Burnley reporter Tyrone Marshall was surprised to hear of interest from the Blues:

Chelsea clearly want to bring in another striker in January, which could allow Michy Batshuayi to leave. The striker is wanted by La Liga side Sevilla, per Simon Jones for MailOnline.

However, a move for Barnes seems an odd choice for the Premier League champions. While he can be difficult to play against, he is not a prolific goalscorer or even a regular starter for Burnley.

Chelsea also want to take Slimani on loan for the rest of the season, according to Duncan Castles at the Sunday Times (h/t Matt Maltby for MailOnline).

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Leicester may be willing to allow their record signing to leave, as they want to reduce their wage bill, but would like a permanent deal rather than a loan.

Like Barnes, the 29-year-old is not a regular and has just one goal and one assist from 12 Premier League appearances, although only two of those have been starts.

Football commentator Arlo White showed how Chelsea have raided Leicester previously:

Foxes boss Claude Puel has given his response after being asked about Slimani's future, per Indy Football:

The Algeria international also appears a strange choice for Chelsea, as he has hardly impressed this season and is not a signing that will particularly excite supporters.

Both Slimani and Barnes would be eligible to play in the UEFA Champions League for Chelsea, but the Blues' transfer plans for January looked confused at best.

They may want to let Batshuayi depart, but neither Barnes nor Slimani look to be an upgrade on the Belgium international.