Football fans are still coming to terms with the unexpected news that Chelsea are interested in signing Peter Crouch this month.Antonio Conte has added the 36-year-old Stoke City forward to his January wish-list as he targets a striker to replace Michy Batshuayi at Stamford Bridge.Andy Carroll and Fernando Llorente are on the same list but Crouch would probably be the easiest of the trio for Chelsea to acquire on a short-term deal this month.The retired England international signed a one-year contract extension with the Potters earlier this month but would surely be tempted by the shock opportunity to join the Blues.Per the Telegraph, Crouch was a childhood Chelsea fan and was at Wembley for the 19994 FA Cup final against Manchester United.He was also a regular ballboy at Stamford Bridge and idolised Kerry Dixon.His father, meanwhile, has been a Chelsea season-ticket holder for years, so we know what he’ll be advising his son.

Chelsea's awkward tweet about Crouch from 2010

However, Crouch might be slightly - but only slightly - more reluctant to sign for the Blues when he sees what they tweeted about him back in December 2010.

Chelsea were playing away at White Hart Lane when, in the 60th minute, Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp sent on Crouch in place of Jermaine Defoe.

Chelsea’s official Twitter account reacted by posting this…

Ooh. That looks a bit awkward now, doesn’t it?

It's gone viral overnight

The seven-year-old tweet had barely been retweeted prior to last night’s reports revealing that Chelsea are keen on signing Crouch.

Now it’s gone viral overnight, racking up thousands of retweets over the past 24 hours.

Just in case Chelsea delete it...

And just in case Chelsea delete it - which seems pretty likely - here it is again…

Crouch didn't score against Chelsea that afternoon

By the way, if you’re wondering, Crouch didn’t score after coming off the bench in that match during the 2010-11 season.

Spurs were leading 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal from Roman Pavlyuchenko - remember him? - but Didier Drogba netted the equaliser shortly after Crouch’s arrival to secure a point for the Blues.

Would Peter Crouch be a decent short-term signing for Chelsea - or has Antonio Conte lost the plot? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.