Fabrizio Romano has written in today’s edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column about Chelsea’s decision not to sign Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus this summer.
The Serbia international was an option for the Blues, but it seems Mauricio Pochettino and others at Stamford Bridge were unconvinced by him, though Romano is not sure what their reasoning was.
The transfer news expert believes Vlahovic could have been an excellent option for many top clubs, and its certainly the case that Chelsea are lacking goals in their side right now.
“It’s too early to say for sure if Chelsea will move for a new striker in January, for now they are saying their focus is on the current squad. They are also keen to protect Nicolas Jackson, who had a very good pre-season, though of course to repeat that in the Premier League is not the same. Still, they back him and they want to trust him,” Romano said.
“Christopher Nkunku’s return from injury could also be crucial for Jackson’s form. They linked up well together in pre-season, so to have someone like him to help create space and to give him different kind of passes could be crucial. That’s why they believe that when Nkunku is back the attacking situation will be very different, so that’s why they’re not commenting on signing another striker now.
“They had the chance to sign other strikers in the summer, like Dusan Vlahovic, but Chelsea were never 100% convinced about going for a traditional number 9. I think they will stick to that plan for the next couple of months, and then let’s see where we are at the end of November, but for now they are not actively working on a new striker because they want to protect the squad they have.
“Personally, I really like Vlahovic so for me he’s an excellent option for any club in the world, but especially for Juventus as he’s key player there. I don’t know the exact reasons why Chelsea rejected that possibility, but they were not sure since July and then again in August so they decided not to take up that option.”
Chelsea signed Nicolas Jackson during the summer, and although the young Senegalese forward looks an exciting prospect for the future, it remains to be seen if he’s truly ready to lead the line for a top club like Chelsea this season.
Vlahovic has started this season well for Juventus, so one imagines there’ll be a fair few CFC fans left scratching their heads about this decision.