Chelsea spy return of towering centre-forward amid west-London battle with Brentford for signing

Chelsea are keeping track of Charlton Athletic centre-forward Miles Leaburn, who previously played in their own academy setup, according to reports.

Leaburn is 1.95m tall and has made use of his imposing presence over the past couple of seasons to the point where he has 19 goals from 50 senior appearances for Charlton under his belt.

According to various sources, including the South London Press and the Daily Mail, Leaburn is being tracked by Chelsea as they continue their drive to recruit the best young talent around.

Per the Mail, Charlton rejected a bid of £3m from a Bundesliga club for Leaburn in the summer. They have him under contract until the end of next season as things stand.

Other than Chelsea, both sources class Brentford as suitors for Leaburn, meaning his next move could be to west London one way or another.

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The plans either potential bidder would have if they got Leaburn are for the time being unclear. He is getting regular gametime at the Valley, but may be classed as more of a long-term prospect by a Premier League side.

Besides, Chelsea and Brentford could each have more pressing needs to sign a senior striker. Mauricio Pochettino’s outfit need another focal point to ease some pressure on recent recruit Nicolas Jackson, while the Bees have been operating without Ivan Toney throughout his FA ban and might lose him for good if another club buys him in January.

Nevertheless, neither suitor will want to miss out on the opportunity to add Leaburn to their ranks if they believe he has high potential.

Leaburn already has good tally for Charlton

In his debut season in League One, Leaburn scored 12 goals in 35 games. This season, he has scored three times within his first eight appearances in the third tier.

Leaburn left Chelsea’s academy to develop further with Charlton in 2019 and it seems to have paid off at this stage of his career. In the long term, though, he might be eyeing a bigger stage on which to showcase his talents.

A move from Charlton to Chelsea would see him follow in the footsteps of fellow striker Mason Burstow, who made that move in 2022 and is currently on loan at Sunderland despite earning three senior appearances for the Blues at the start of the current season.

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