According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via SportWitness), Chelsea insist on signing Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in the summer transfer window.
The London giants had a forgettable campaign after their big-money takeover. They finished 12th in the Premier League and will not be playing European football next season. Despite this, they have ambitious summer transfer plans, and Gazzetta dello Sport claim that they ‘insist’ on making the signing of Vlahovic.
The Italian outlet add that there was a meeting between Chelsea and Juventus representatives in London over the weekend. The Serie A outfit want to recoup most of the £69 million fee paid to Fiorentina for Vlahovic, but Chelsea have presented several options as they have players to offload too this summer.
Top striker
Vlahovic was described as one of the best young strikers in the world during his time at Fiorentina. He netted a stunning 33 goals in the Italian top-flight in 2021, but has managed only 17 more since joining Juventus in January 2022.
Hence, we are not surprised that Juventus are prepared to offload Vlahovic. Chelsea are insistent on landing his signature, and it remains to be seen whether they can find a suitable transfer agreement for him.
After the huge £600 million spending spree last season, Chelsea are moving cautiously in the transfer market. They need to recoup funds from player sales such that they can avoid breaching the Financial Fair Play limit.
With this in mind, the club may want to negotiate a part-exchange deal with Juventus for Vlahovic. They could use one of their out-of-favour players as a makeweight to reduce the asking price for the Serbian star.
Vlahovic has failed to replicate his Fiorentina form at Juventus, but he still has plenty of potential and could find his scoring touch at another club. Chelsea seem prepared to take the gamble despite his recent struggles.
The London giants netted only 38 goals from as many league games last season. No one in the squad managed more than 9 goals. They need a huge improvement next season to challenge for the top 4 at least.
