Chelsea’s summer signing Joao Pedro has scored in two consecutive Premier League games prior to the international break, and the club will hope his form can continue for longer after his bright start to life with them at the Club World Cup.
Liam Delap, meanwhile, has faced a stop-start situation with an injury requiring him to spend two months on the sidelines. That said, Enzo Maresca will hope that he too can find his feet from his Ipswich Town days of last season sooner rather than later.
In spite of having two brilliant strikers in their squad, Chelsea are ‘keeping close tabs’ on Atletico Madrid ace Julian Alvarez, according to Graeme Bailey (h/t Chelsea News) with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain also keen on him.
Alvarez has been in imperious form for Atletico this season with nine goals and four assists in all competitions, but has been widely touted to leave after standing head and shoulders above the rest of his teammates for yet another campaign.
Chelsea will face competition for Alvarez
Julian Alvarez would be a fantastic signing for Chelsea. His ability to play as a secondary striker as well as on both flanks would give Enzo Maresca a lot of tactical flexibility along with the guarantee of goals flowing more freely than they recently have.
Transfermarkt values the World Cup winner at £87 million, but with a contract valid with Atletico Madrid until June 2030, the La Liga outfit is likely to ask a nine-figure sum to part company with the Argentine international any time soon.
Even though Chelsea have the finances to get a deal across the line, they face competition from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, who would also be prepared to break the bank for Alvarez considering his incredible qualities.
Barca might not be in pole position for the player’s signing as Atletico would not want to strengthen a domestic rival, whereas it is also debatable whether or not the Catalans have the necessary finances to secure a deal for him.
PSG, however, can comfortably outdo Chelsea’s financial muscle and having built a competitive sporting project with Luis Enrique at the helm, they will fancy their chances of beating the Blues to the 25-year-old’s purchase.
If Atletico Madrid continue to fall short to Barcelona and Real Madrid on the domestic front, and also underperform in Europe, it may only be a matter of time before Julian Alvarez asks to leave and it will be interesting to see where he ends up next.
