Chelsea have expressed interest in Celtic’s Moussa Dembélé and have been made aware of the Scottish champions’ valuation of the striker, with the Premier League leaders now weighing up whether to lodge a formal bid in the region of £30m before the transfer deadline on Tuesday night or defer their interest until the summer.

Dembélé, a France Under-21 international, began his development at Paris Saint-Germain before joining Fulham’s academy at 16 and has been prolific in Scottish football since signing a four-year contract at Celtic last summer. His 20 goals in 38 appearances include an eye-catching double against Manchester City and an equaliser, from the penalty spot, at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Champions League, with the forward continuing the progress he had demonstrated in the Championship last term.

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Chelsea, who are facing a battle to sign the Bosnia defender Sead Kolasinac from Schalke before Tuesday night’s 11pm cut-off as a replacement for the Zenit St-Petersburg-bound Branislav Ivanovic, are understood to have made clear their interest in Dembélé. Although Celtic do not anticipate losing the 20-year-old in this window, and finalising a deal could be complicated given the time constraints, the scope is there for the Premier League leaders to test their resolve with an offer if they choose to pursue the player now.

The clubs have been in dialogue over the past week over the goalkeeper Craig Gordon, and Chelsea could return with a third offer for the Scotland international, allowing Asmir Begovic to complete a £10m move to Bournemouth, for all that Celtic have been resistant to permitting the 34-year-old to leave up to now.

Antonio Conte, whose side take on Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday hoping to open a 13-point gap over their hosts, has been keen to add to his forward ranks this month, initially seeking cover for Diego Costa, with Michy Batshuayi still settling into life in the Premier League. The London club previously sounded out Swansea City over the potential availability of Fernando Llorente.

There is less necessity to pursue targets mid-season given that Costa is to remain at Stamford Bridge until the summer at the very least following interest from the Chinese Super League. Chelsea may therefore choose to rekindle interest in Dembélé in the summer window, when Celtic may be more receptive to a bid for a player who cost them only £500,000 – a training compensation fee for the youngster who was out of contract at Craven Cottage.

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Ivanovic has brought down the curtain on a glittering nine-year spell at Chelsea after agreeing a contract to 2019, with scope for a further 12 months, at Zenit. The Serb, who scored in Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brentford, has travelled to Russia to undergo a medical and will depart Stamford Bridge having proved to be one of the best incoming transfers of the Roman Abramovich era. The £9.7m signing from Lokomotiv Moscow in 2008 claimed two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, a League Cup, a Champions League and the winning goal in a Europa League final at the club.

“He has played a lot of games for this club, and won a lot for this club,” said Conte of Ivanovic, who lost his place in the Premier League after the loss at Arsenal on 24 September and has been restricted to cameos ever since. “He’s 32 and, I think, he can play for many years. He’s able to continue his career in the right way at the top level, yes. But it’s important also to respect the decision of the player, above all for this type of player: a legend of the club. If you are not playing a lot, you can decide to make another decision. To go in another team. But I have great respect for him and for this type of player.”

Kolasinac, like Ivanovic, is out of contract this summer, though Schalke were resisting Chelsea’s attempts to sign him on Monday night. The 23-year-old, who has 17 caps for Bosnia and Herzegovina, had been expected to join Juventus at the end of the season but is understood to be interested in the chance to move to the Premier League. Chelsea would pay around £6m for a player who was capped at under-20 level by Germany and who can operate at centre-half, left-back or, potentially, central midfield to offer various options for Conte, while they are also in talks with Internazionale over a loan move for French winger Jonathan Biabiany. The 28-year-old has yet to make a Serie A appearance this season.

Conte believes his team can inflict a significant psychological blow on Liverpool by winning at Anfield, inflicting a fourth consecutive defeat on their hosts. “For sure, it would be a hard hit, mentally, for them [if they lose],” said Conte. “But, I repeat: there are 15 games after this, and 45 points available before the season finishes. For this reason I think the result is important, but the result doesn’t decide the season of Chelsea or Liverpool. And Liverpool are a team who are very dangerous.

“This game is important for them, but it’s also important for us to win. I repeat: when there are these games between two great opponents, it’s important to win to increase your confidence and to keep them behind us with the right distance. Honestly, I think we go there as a different team [from the one that succumbed 2-1 to these opponents at Stamford Bridge in September]. We grew a lot since that defeat. Six months, our work is incredible, above all if you compare our position now to last season, but we still have room to improve.”