Chelsea could be forced to target other centre forwards after Lyon took the bizarre step of publicly announcing their intention to keep Moussa Dembele.

The former Fulham and Celtic striker, 23, has long been a target for the west Londoners and has notched 10 goals in all competitions so far this season, though Lyon are languishing in 12th in Ligue 1.

The Frenchman has plenty of suitors this month and Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is looking to bring in higher quality competition for top scorer Tammy Abraham, with Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi both potentially leaving the club.

In a statement this week, the French club said : "Olympique Lyonnais have become aware of some media reports suggesting that Moussa Dembélé may be of interest to other clubs during the January transfer window.

"We would like to reaffirm our wish, as we did in the summer of 2019, to keep Moussa Dembele.

In pictures | Chelsea's summer transfer targets 6 show all In pictures | Chelsea's summer transfer targets 1/6 Frank Lampard's summer transfer targets. REUTERS 2/6 Timo Werner (signed) Club: RB Leipzig AFP via Getty Images 3/6 Hakim Ziyech (signed) Club: Ajax AP 4/6 Wilfried Zaha Club: Crystal Palace REUTERS 5/6 Jadon Sancho Club: Borussia Dortmund Bongarts/Getty Images 6/6 Moussa Dembele Club: Lyon AFP via Getty Images 1/6 Frank Lampard's summer transfer targets. REUTERS 2/6 Timo Werner (signed) Club: RB Leipzig AFP via Getty Images 3/6 Hakim Ziyech (signed) Club: Ajax AP 4/6 Wilfried Zaha Club: Crystal Palace REUTERS 5/6 Jadon Sancho Club: Borussia Dortmund Bongarts/Getty Images 6/6 Moussa Dembele Club: Lyon AFP via Getty Images

"The club has full confidence in Moussa and is counting on him in particular as we aim to build a successful team for the coming seasons."

Chelsea have kept a close eye on CSKA Moscow striker Fedor Chalov who was of interest to Crystal Palace and Arsenal over the summer, the Eagles seeing a £23million offer knocked back by the Russians.

Meanwhile, Lampard could hand a full debut to youngster Tariq Lamptey against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup this weekend. The 19-year-old impressed off the bench at Arsenal and is in talks over a new deal with Chelsea.