Chelsea chiefs have reached out to the representatives of a top-class striker, with his January exit seen as a real possibility before deadline day.
Chelsea looking at potential forward signing for January
Christopher Nkunku has already given Bayern Munich real encouragement that they can strike a deal for the 27-year-old before time runs out, so a mid-season departure for one of Enzo Maresca‘s top scorers in all competitions could even happen.
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Stamford Bridge officials are apparently convinced.
Nkunku is believed to have agreed personal terms with Bayern, giving the green-light for Vincent Kompany’s side to attempt a January deal for him, but both Chelsea and the Bavarians still need to shake hands on a club-to-club fee.
|
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Man City (away) |
January 25 |
|
West Ham (away) |
February 3 |
|
Brighton (away) |
February 14 |
|
Aston Villa (away) |
February 22 |
|
Southampton (home) |
February 25 |
Chelsea will demand north of £60 million to let the Frenchman leave, so there is clearly work to do on that front, and it is unclear whether Bayern would be willing to pay such a price tag for Nkunku – despite him clearly being a top target.
In the event Nkunku does quit Stamford Bridge, it is believed Chelsea will push to bring in a new striker before February 3rd (Simon Phillips). Ipswich Town star Liam Delap is high on the wishlist of co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, with the Blues making consistent approaches to the 21-year-old.
Chelsea made contact with Delap’s camp for the second time in the last few weeks, and fairly recently (Simon Phillips). This interest comes amid his impressive Premier League campaign at Portman Road, where he has shone as one of Kieran McKenna’s star players in a relegation-threatened side.
The former Man City gem is by no means their only reported striker target, though, and there are suggestions that Chelsea could even rival Arsenal for RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko.
Chelsea hold talks with Dusan Vlahovic via his representatives
Interestingly, according to a report by Calciomercato in Italy, Sesko isn’t the only striker who Chelsea could look to challenge Arsenal for.
Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic is a target for both London clubs, with the Serbia international facing an uncertain future as his contract expires in 2026. Chelsea have already held made contact with Vlahovic’s camp, alongside Arsenal, as the two sides both hunt for a new striker.
The 24-year-old, on around £195,000-per-week according to this report, has scored 12 goals in 24 appearances across all competitions so far.
Calcio claim that Vlahovic will be allowed to leave before deadline day, but not unless a club pays the required asking price of up to £51 million. The former Fiorentina star racked up 21 goals in the 2020/2021 season for La Viola, his best campaign to date, but came pretty close to that tally with 18 strikes for Juve last season.
Vlahovic is clearly a player who knows where the net is, so Juve don’t plan on letting him go cheaply, regardless of his contract situation.
