According to Corriere dello Sport (via SportWitness), Chelsea are planning a concrete bid to sign Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in January.
The London giants recently suffered a huge blow with Armando Broja suffering a serious knee injury. The Albanian striker has been ruled out for the rest of the season and Chelsea are likely to search for a new striker during the upcoming transfer window.
Corriere dello Sport now report that Graham Potter’s side are leading the race to sign Vlahovic ahead of Arsenal and United. The club are ready to make a concrete bid for the Serbian, who could leave in January amid Juventus’ legal issues over taxation.
Top-class
Vlahovic was the subject of huge speculation during the 2022 winter transfer window. London counterparts Arsenal were constantly linked with the 22-year-old but the player was clear that he wanted to continue in the Italian top-flight. He joined Juventus from Fiorentina.
His time in Turin has been a mixed bag. A tally of 16 goals from 36 appearances is impressive but a lot more is expected from a player, who was signed for £66.6 million. Vlahovic’s fitness has also been problematic for Juventus as he has been carrying a nagging groin injury.
Despite this, he would be a top-class signing for Chelsea in the long term. The Serbian international would be an upgrade on a declining Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and would offer strong competition to Kai Havertz, who has yet to prove himself at club level, though he continues to shine regularly for Germany.
Chelsea have lacked the presence of a genuine goalscoring striker since Diego Costa. Eden Hazard was the last player to register 20 goals for the club in 2019. Vlahovic could be Chelsea’s long-term striking solution, and they will be hoping to find an agreement with Juventus, who will demand a sizeable fee for his exit.
