Chelsea would be “bonkers” to pay £100 million for Evan Ferguson, according to one of their former stars.

Glen Johnson was the latest ex-Blues man to be asked about the club’s reported interest in Albion’s striker.

His replies were released as part of promotional work by bookies BetFred.com.

Johnson said Ferguson is at too early a stage of his career to be placed under the pressure of being the man in attack at Chelsea.

Albion are not expected to sell any main players in this window while Ferguson appears well-placed to progress as a goalscorer under Roberto De Zerbi.

Johnson said: “This Chelsea side at the minute needs an experienced striker. 100%.

“They need a big name that’s going to make their opponents fearful.

“Regarding Evan Ferguson, don’t get me wrong, he may eventually become the next big thing and I hope he does, but Chelsea can’t be spending £100 million on a 19-year-old.

“They have spent a fortune on youngsters already and they don’t have two or three years to wait.

“What are the chances that a 19-year-old is going to have the character and knowledge to be the main man for Chelsea?

“It’s highly, highly unlikely.

“In two or three years, he may be at the level to achieve that, but not right now because he’s not fully proven yet. £100 million for Evan sounds bonkers to me.”

Mauricio Pochettino was asked about Ferguson by an Irish reporter after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday.

That appears to have prompted follow-up pieces, with Pat Nevin telling OCB scores he would prefer to see the club go for Ferguson than bring in Karim Benzema on loan.