West Ham United are braced for a bid for Andy Carroll after Chelsea opened talks over a move for the striker, who missed the FA Cup third-round replay with Shrewsbury Town that Reece Burke won with an extra-time goal.

Chelsea are desperate to boost head coach Antonio Conte’s striking options and have made Carroll one of their surprise targets. But Chelsea are also understood to have made approaches for other forwards as they seek to land competition for Alvaro Morata after going three games without scoring.

Sevilla want to sign Michy Batshuayi on loan, but Chelsea will not sanction his release until they get a replacement – either on loan or permanently.

West Ham have made it clear they are not prepared to sanction a loan deal for Carroll, who has 18 months remaining on his £90,000-a-week contract, and Chelsea appear to have taken that on board by signalling their willingness to discuss a permanent move.