Chelsea identify Barbosa as top transfer target
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E-mail Xinhua, January 6, 2020
Chelsea have joined the race to sign in-form Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa, according to press reports in Brazil and England.
The Premier League club had a transfer ban lifted last month and head coach Frank Lampard has reportedly identified Barbosa as a target for the January transfer window.
However the Blues face competition from Flamengo, where Barbosa spent 2019 on loan from Inter Milan, as well as Premier League rivals West Ham and Crystal Palace, the Globo news portal said.
It added that Chelsea's French forward Olivier Giroud could join Inter Milan as part of the deal.
Barbosa, who is nicknamed Gabigol, scored 43 goals in 59 matches across all competitions for Flamengo in 2019, helping the club to the Brazilian Serie A and Copa Libertadores titles.
His prolific season followed an impressive 12-month loan at Santos, where he netted 27 times in 53 matches.
Barbosa was considered one of the world's most promising young forwards in 2016, when he joined Inter Milan for 30 million U.S. dollars from Santos.
But he managed just one goal in 10 matches for the Italian club before an equally unsuccessful six-month loan spell at Benfica.
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