With Fernando Torres again failing to find the sort of form that is expected of the Spanish international, Roman Abramovich has sanctioned a massive £45 million bid for goal-machine Radamel Falcao.
According to an exclusive in The Sun, Chelsea have already started preliminary discussions with Atletico Madrid over a proposed January move for the Colombian international.
Abramovich was reportedly impressed with the way Falcao carved open Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup, where the 26-year-old scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 victory.
While Chelsea have brought in gifted playmakers in the mould of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Marko Marin - they already had Juan Mata - goals have still been hard to come by, not taking into account the 6-0 drubbing of Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, a game in which Torres, incidentally, scored.
According to the report, Chelsea are working out a deal with Atletico to try and ensure they are not beaten to the punch by another team. "The groundwork is already being done for Falcao," a Chelsea source told The Sun.
"The owner wants everything in place now so a deal can be done before any other club can make a counter-offer."
Atletico are struggling financially and are in dire need of some funds, opening up the possibility of them allowing their best player to leave. Chelsea are a little light in the striking department, with Torres and Daniel Sturridge the only recognized central pair, with the latter yet to convince Roberto Di Matteo about his ability to play up front.
Whether Abramovich will be willing to shell out so much money with the Financial Fair Play regulations coming into play and also what impact it will have on Torres, a player that the Russian billionaire personally wanted at the club, remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Chelsea assistant coach Eddie Newton said Torres was upbeat after scoring against Wolves on Tuesday, lending his support for the embattled striker. "Fernando is positive. We talk to all our players and he is very positive," Newton told reporters. "He is feeling a lot sharper, the goals will come. We all believe that.
"You can't expect a sudden flood of goals, we want consistency over the season and we feel he will get that."