Chelsea must complete a January move for one of their most touted attacking targets following a recent boost in their pursuit of him.

Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram has been in red-hot form this season, and with his contract up for expiry in just a matter of months, the Blues have indeed been linked with a move. Indeed, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has even claimed that “negotiations will continue” despite the £9.7m loan signing of Joao Felix.

According to prominent German journalist Christian Falk, writing in his Caught Offside column on Friday, Blues manager Graham Potter could prove successful in his pursuit of the Frenchman by offering just €10m (£9m) in the ongoing transfer window.

With Thuram’s electric pace and imposing physicality, partnered with his prolific output this season, Chelsea would inject a cutting edge and added dimension to the flagging forward line.

The Blues have been well below par this season, currently languishing in tenth place in the Premier League, ten points behind Manchester United in fourth – who have a game in hand – and out of both domestic cup competitions after defeats to Manchester City.

With seven defeats from the past ten matches across all competitions, with just seven goals scored in this period, the need for change is evident.

Felix has indeed arrived at Stamford Bridge but has been beset with the ignominy of a red card on his debut, with the Blues losing 2-1 to local rivals Fulham on Thursday. In Thuram, the fluidity and potency of the frontline could be rekindled.

Having been plagued by injuries last year, the 25-year-old has bounced back into prominence with a resounding start to the season, netting 13 goals and providing four assists from just 17 matches for Gladbach from his dynamic role as his team’s talisman.

Not quite the traditional centre-forward, the nine-cap Frenchman relies on his physical attributes to terrorise defences and carry the ball into dangerous areas, unleashing deadly strikes with aplomb.

As per FBref, over the last 12 months, he ranks within the top 7% of forwards in the big five European leagues for rate of goals, top 8% for total shots, top 6% for dribbles completed and top 13% for touches in the opposition’s penalty area.

With this level of clinical prowess and evident brilliance in direct frontal assaults, drifting past defenders and finding space in promising positions, he could be the very cog that Chelsea need in order to get the Blues machine whirring once again.

The overarching gloom seeping into Chelsea’s core can be swiftly eradicated with several well-placed actions to get firmly back on track, and Thuram could be the catalyst to instigate the initial change.

Christopher Nkunku’s summer transfer to Stamford Bridge is reportedly completed, which could be a partnership in itself, as Football FanCast recently outlined.

In the present, Thuram could provide the “world-class” pedigree – as once lauded by Wolfsburg director Marcel Schafer – to save Chelsea’s ailing season and give Potter the killer ingredient that he has been missing in attack.