Chelsea Mocked on Social Media Over Surprise Pursuit of Stoke Striker Peter Crouch

Chelsea have recently made enquiries about Stoke striker Peter Crouch as a potential solution to their target-man problems, and social media has reacted in its usual fashion.

The Telegraph reported yesterday evening that the Blues were interested in former England international Crouch - who will turn 37 at the end of this month.

With Michy Batshuayi possibly on his way out of Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are now seeking to add some height and experience to their team and much-needed backup to Alvaro Morata.

The Blues were initially interested in West Ham forward Andy Carroll, but dropped their interest after Carroll was ruled out for at least a month with an ankle injury. The 6'7'' journeyman striker Crouch is now thought to be among their primary targets.

Crouch's unusual frame and personality has often made him the target of mockery throughout his career, but he has scored goals wherever he has played and is notoriously difficult to defend against.

Not that you'd know it from the reaction of Twitter, where the backlash to Chelsea's reported interest in Crouch has been...well, exactly what you'd expect.

It's a pretty extreme reaction to the potential signing of a man who has made nearly 700 career appearances, scored over 200 goals, and has a better goals-to-games ratio at international level than any other England regular this century.

There may be some humble pie on the menu for the administrators of Chelsea's Twitter account though. In 2010, during a game between Chelsea and Crouch's then-employers Tottenham, a Spurs substitution was greeted with this update, which has resurfaced for obvious reasons.

Perhaps 'route one' isn't such a bad idea after all, eh lads?