Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca reportedly wants to bring in a new striker next season with Christopher Nkunku’s future being subjected to speculation as a result of falling behind Nicolas Jackson in the team’s pecking order.
TEAMtalk has linked the Blues with Newcastle striker Alexander Isak and stated that they have ‘made enquiries’ to land the Swedish international next year. It is speculated that the Magpies could be prepared to cash-in on the former Real Sociedad marksman, though any offer might have to start from £115 million.
Arsenal have also been heavily linked with a swoop for Isak with the report adding that he is their ‘dream’ signing. However, it looks like Chelsea have stolen a march on the Gunners and could now hijack their attempts to sign Isak.
It appears Arsenal and Chelsea could now go head-to-head to sign Isak next year – although Chelsea are said to have ‘alternatives in mind’, like Victor Osimhen, so they may still be keeping their options open.
Chelsea could beat Arsenal to Isak
Arsenal have not been in the best run of form in recent weeks and are already nine points off the pace in the title race. If they don’t improve significantly over the coming months, they could even find themselves in a battle to finish in the top four.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are strapped with cash and have improved significantly under Enzo Maresca this season. They are on-course to return to the Champions League and Nkunku’s possible sale would also free up a decent part of their wage bill, so they could offer Isak an extremely attractive package to join them.
If Chelsea were to sign Isak, they would have to offload not just Nkunku but possibly one of their wingers as well. Nicolas Jackson could likely move to the wings as he has proven in the last couple of years that he is too good a player to be dropped, which hints at one of Mykhaylo Mudryk, Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix or Pedro Neto not having a place in the team in 2025/26.
We’ll have to wait and see how things progress over the coming months but Isak would be a superb signing for either Arsenal or Chelsea if one of the London giants were able to land him in 2025.
