Chelsea owner Todd Boehly considering Watford FC swoop as €10m transfer claim made | OneFootball

The BlueCo entity could be about to raid the Championship for one of its top talents...

Chelsea ownership group BlueCo have reportedly set their sights on Watford starlet Othmane Maamma at the start of the January transfer window.

Led by American businessman Todd Boehly, BlueCo have been behind the lavish spending at Chelsea over the last three-and-a-half years, where they have not only brought in ready-made stars, but also players with the potential to go on to play for the Blues in the future.

BlueCo have also used their other club - Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg - as a place for some of these youngsters to develop, and that may be the planned destination for one of the newest players to come on their radar, a player who is exciting EFL fans this season since his arrival at Vicarage Road.

BlueCo set sights on Watford FC winger Othmane Maamma

According to L'Equipe journalist Flavien Trésarrieu, the owners of Chelsea and Strasbourg are the latest to take an interest in Maamma - just months after his arrival in England.

It is claimed that BlueCo are considering moving for the Moroccan youth international as soon as this month's transfer window, and the Watford hierarchy will not stand in the attacker's way should the right bid come in, which is reported to be in excess of €10 million (£8.7 million).

BlueCo aren't the only entity that are keen on Maamma though - Bournemouth are also considering a move for the 20-year-old France-born winger, according to Trésarrieu, and they are set to have new-found riches when Antoine Semenyo's move to Man City goes through.

Maamma arrived at Watford in the summer from Montpellier, in a fee that the BBC claim was under £1 million, and before he'd even kicked a ball for the Hertfordshire outfit, he had gained some notoriety for winning the Golden Ball at the FIFA Under-20's World Cup in Chile for his national side.

He was not handed his debut for Watford though until early November under Javi Gracia after he replaced Paulo Pezzolano in the Vicarage Road dugout, but the wide attacker hasn't looked back - he's scored three Championship goals and added one assist to that tally as well, seeing himself as a regular starter thanks to the absences of Rocco Vata and Kwadwo Baah out wide.

Watford FC and Gino Pozzo cannot afford to cash in on Othmane Maamma at any cost

Watford would have been expecting to go into the January transfer window with Imran Louza as their most prized asset and the one that teams want to buy, given how much of a star he's been in the Championship this season.

Yet, the attention has seemingly moved on to Maamma, and you could see it coming from the moment he won the prestigious FIFA award when playing for Morocco's under-20's.

He hadn't even kicked a ball for Watford at that point, but his gradual introduction into English football has been an exciting one, and given how BlueCo like to snap up young talents, it's no surprise that they are watching on.

Given they're in a promotion battle though, Watford can't afford to cash in on their best assets mid-season, and it will certainly be more than the £8.7 million that is being mooted for Maamma.