Chelsea 'plotting shock Rickie Lambert swoop'

Chelsea are reportedly considering a surprise move for Liverpool's Rickie Lambert at the end of the season.

The Kirkby-born forward joined his boyhood club from Southampton last summer, but has struggled for regular football and was believed to be close to joining Aston Villa during the January transfer window.

According to The Mirror, however, the newly-crowned Premier League champions are considering the 33-year-old as a possible replacement for Didier Drogba, with the Ivorian expected to leave Stamford Bridge.

If Lambert were to join Chelsea, he will likely be third-choice striker behind both Diego Costa and Loic Remy, whose contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

However, the England international is not the only name being linked with a move to the West London outfit, as Tottenham Hotspur's Emmanuel Adebayor is also said to on Chelsea's radar.