Mauricio Pochettino signed Nicolas Jackson this summer to make up for Chelsea’s lack of goals last season, but the Blues could be on the hunt for another striker if reports are to be believed. Mark Brus of Caught Offside says Chelsea have Dusan Vlahovic on their list of potential transfer targets, but his asking price might be too steep for them to match.
The Blues scored 38 times in as many Premier League games in 2022/23 and didn’t have a prolific centre-forward in the first-team with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (1 goal in 15 apps), Armando Broja (1 goal in 12 apps), Joao Felix (4 goals in 16 apps) all struggling for league goals, so they bought Jackson from Villarreal off the back of his 12 goals from 16 La Liga starts last season.
Pochettino has Broja, Christopher Nkunku and Romelu Lukaku who can play up front, but the latter is expected to be sold. Lukaku was loaned out last season and doesn’t appear to have a future at Stamford Bridge, so Chelsea might benefit from replacing him.
Vlahovic could be that player. The 23-year-old joined Juventus from Fiorentina in January 22 and has made 63 appearances in all competitions, scoring 23 goals with six assists. Vlahovic hasn’t been at his best in Turin and could be sold as a result, but Juventus want every penny that they spent.
The Old Lady paid £66m for the Serbian international and are requesting £70m for his signature, according to the report. It doesn’t appear Chelsea are willing to pay so much for Vlahovic, but they could fund the transfer through the sale of unwanted first-team players. Lukaku has an asking price of nearly £40m and has interest from Inter Milan, Juventus and Al-Hilal, so Chelsea should be able to cash in on him.
Chelsea have made £218m selling eight players this summer, so they’re making up for last season’s overspend and want to ensure they’re getting value in the transfer market.
