Chelsea will step up their attempts to sign Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy in January following Jose Mourinho's departure.
Standard Sport understands Vardy, who is the top scorer in the Premier League and netted against Chelsea in a 2-1 won on Monday night, is their first choice target to strengthen the frontline.
It is believed technical director Michael Emenalo recommended buying the 28-year-old in the January transfer window while Mourinho was still in charge.
However, Mourinho, who had grown frustrated with the club's transfer business over the previous six months, wasn't interested because he felt the England international didn't suit his style of play.
Significantly, Vardy will be eligible to play in the Champions League, where the Blues have a last 16 tie against Paris Saint Germain, He would help improve the home grown quota at the club too.
Leicester insist they want to keep their £30m-valued prize asset, who has helped fire them to the top of the table with 15 goals.
His contract worth £40,000-a-week expires in 2018 and their coach Claudio Ranieri, who was also speaking about the future of his other star Riyad Mahrez, insisted they'd both be staying put in January.
He added: "I don't consider also [selling] them in the summer because in my mind the first thing I want is to keep them here."
Sources suggest Mourinho's relationship with technical director Michael Emenalo had deteriorated and in a damning statement, the latter refused to name the Chelsea coach by name as he discussed the reasons behind his departure last night.
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Emenalo said: "Whilst there is huge sentiment for the individual who has done so much for the club, the fact of the matter remains that Chelsea Football Club is in trouble."
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One of the reasons for a fall-out between them was over player targets, with Mourinho unhappy about the summer spending, which included the arrival of Abdul Baba Rahman and Papy Djilobodji, who were believed to be Emenalo signings.
Chelsea are also planning to make bids for Alex Teixeira, John Stones and Marquinhos next month.
Chelsea want to improve their options up front, especially as Radamel Falcao is set to rejoin parent club Monaco after a disastrous spell on loan.
Falcao has scored just one goal since agreeing to join Chelsea on a season-long deal in the summer and started just two matches.
