Chelsea have an "outstanding opportunity" to secure the signature of Dusan Vlahovic in the coming weeks, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT.
Chelsea transfer news – What's the latest on Dusan Vlahovic?
It's been all action at Stamford Bridge over the last few weeks, with the Blues seeing a swath of players leaving the club, such as Kai Havertz and Mason Mount, who joined Arsenal and Manchester United, respectively.
However, the burgeoning Saudi Pro League has made the biggest difference for Chelsea this window, with N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, and Kalidou Koulibaly making their way to the Middle East's new super league.
That business has allowed Mauricio Pochettino's new side to bring in some new faces, with Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, and Diego Moreira all coming through the doors at Stamford Bridge.
However, the Pensioners aren't done there as they look to finally address a problem that's been hurting the club for years: the lack of a starting number nine.
The player earmarked for that role in West London is Juventus' struggling target man Vlahovic, who the Italian club are said to be willing to cut their losses on this summer.
According to the Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian giants would be willing to sanction the sale of the player should a club be able to pay a fee somewhere close to the initial €80m (£68m) they paid to get him out of Fiorentina in January 2022.
What has Dean Jones said about Dusan Vlahovic and Chelsea?
Jones explains that Juventus expect interest in Vlahovic to increase significantly in the coming weeks, and that Chelsea have already been in contact with the Turin side regarding their 6 foot 3 striker.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: "Juve are preparing for new contact around Vlahovic to land in the coming days. I'm hearing that there are several conversations planned between different Premier League clubs and Juve over a few players, and it is thought that in one of these Chelsea will look to discover more information about the availability of Vlahovic. They touched base about five weeks ago or so over this so already have a general understanding.
Jones gave his opinion on the prospect of the signing, adding: "If Vlahovic is going to leave, then those conversations need to open up now. The value attached to him is still around £70m but, as I have said before, that could be very good value for a striker as good as this. This is an outstanding opportunity to sign one of the most clinical finishers in the game. He's up for grabs if they are willing to pay."
How good is Dusan Vlahovic?
It has been a difficult 18 months at the Bianconeri for Vlahovic. Despite costing a whopping £66.6m from Serie A rivals Fiorentina, the Serbian international has flattered to deceive during his time in Turin.
Over his 42 league games, the Belgrade-born colossus has scored just 17 goals, meaning he finds the back of the net once every two-and-a-half games, which for the star striker at Juventus has been deemed simply not enough by Italian football legend Antonio Cassano, who told boboTV (via the Mirror):
"It's not enough to score 15 goals, 20 goals. At Juve, every match must be decisive. It's a dangerous weight on him. He had to take the next step, but not two steps, at Juve, you have to score at least 30 goals per season, and you have to take home the performances and titles.
"I don't see him as a player for Juve."
Unfortunately for the player once described as a "monster" by Italian journalist Carlo Garganese, his underlying numbers only suggest further that he might just be unsuited to being a striker for Europe's elite.
According to FBref, who compare players in a similar position across Europe's top five leagues, the Serbian star finds himself in the top 24% of strikers for total shots, the top 28% for non-penalty expected goals, the top 33% for non-penalty expected goals and assists, and the top 38% for pass completion, all per 90.
Those are his stand-out statistics as well, which makes the idea of Chelsea spending nearly £70m to secure his signature seem incredibly risky.
However, should he rediscover the form he had during his time with La Viola, the form that saw him score 44 goals in 98 Serie A games, then Jones would be correct in his assessment of this as an "outstanding opportunity."
