Chelsea have been offered the chance to sign Espanyol striker Martin Braithwaite.

That is according to transfer speculation this week.

Journalist Graeme Bailey has told HITC Football that Spanish second division club Espanyol have offered their player Martin Braithwaite to clubs in England.

It is understood that Chelsea and Manchester United have been contacted about the 32-year-old. Also, Arsenal, Fulham, West Ham and Wolverhampton Wanderers have received approaches.

The report says that Espanyol’s centre-forward could be available to sign for only £5 million because of a clause in his current contract, with Premier League clubs now contemplating a potential deal.

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Braithwaite’s a player that most football fans will be familiar with, but the reality is he’s spending this season in the Spanish second tier. Incidentally, he’s scored 11 goals in 23 Espanyol appearances this campaign.

The Danish forward played for Barcelona between 2020-22, scoring 10 goals in 58 matches for them. In fairness, Barcelona legend Luis Suarez described him as “great” a few years ago when he played alongside him (Egypt Today).

Meanwhile, he had a stint in the Championship with Middlesbrough even earlier in his career.

Chelsea offered Martin Braithwaite

We’re keen on Chelsea signing a short-term fix for the No 9 position this month, but there’s no way they should be picking up the phone to Espanyol.

Despite a minimal £5m fee, Braithwaite is not the answer for the Blues.

He’s never been a clinical goalscorer in his career and isn’t a top level player, so we’d predict a horrible reaction from supporters if this speculation intensified.

Instead, Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson is the kind of short-term option for the Blues we would recommend.

FootballTransfers recently claimed that Chelsea are keen on signing 31-year-old Newcastle striker Wilson.