Chelsea lead race to sign one of the world’s “best strikers”

Xabi Alonso has quite the task on his hands this summer, with Chelsea swarmed by rumours of players pushing for the exit after finishing ninth in the Premier League, thus missing out on European football next season.

But there is an air of excitement at Stamford Bridge all the same. Alonso does not start at his post until the end of the month, but he has paid a visit to Cobham with his training staff, and will no doubt have discussed with the decision-makers the transfer strategy over the next few months.

How exactly Chelsea will look in September is anyone’s guess right now, but the Blues are searching for established players who can dovetail right in and establish themselves in an outfit looking to bounce back into the Champions League and compete for silverware from the off.

Alonso has plenty of authority in that department – far more than his predecessors – but the plan has remained the same: sign a prolific number nine. BlueCo believe they have the perfect attacker in their sights.

Chelsea leading the race for new striker

Joao Pedro might have been crowned Chelsea’s Player of the Year after bagging 20 goals in all competitions, but the frontline left a lot to be desired in total.

Liam Delap, after his £30m move from Ipswich Town, struggled to make an impact, only scoring one goal in the Premier League. Injuries and struggles for fluency in the final third have hindered him, for sure, but he hasn’t done enough on the field.

Still, Delap’s physical and imposing presence is the right prototype, and as Chelsea move to replace him, it appears that they want someone of a similar vibe.

That man could be Dusan Vlahovic, whose contract with Juventus is set to expire at the end of the month. According to Tutto Juve, any number of suitors are pushing to the front of the queue, but none have been able to get past Chelsea, who are indeed leading the race.

Chelsea haven’t always had a happy marriage with elite-level strikers. Even Fernando Torres struggled to hit his stride and sustain that pace after leaving Liverpool and joining Chelsea in a record-breaking £50m deal.

Could lightning strike twice here?

Why Vlahovic could be Chelsea’s next Torres

Jamie Carragher called Torres “the best striker in the world” during his iconic stint at Anfield, but he never quite found that same level in London, albeit leaving Chelsea with a few iconic moments under his belt, winning Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup titles.

In the end, El Nino only scored 45 goals across 172 games for Chelsea – whereas he posted 85 goals across only 141 matches for Liverpool – and the fear is that Vlahovic might follow suit and struggle to produce the results BlueCo are hoping for at the front of the Stamford Bridge ship.

Vlahovic has ebbed and flowed since leaving Fiorentina with the world at his feet and signing for Juventus in a £67m deal in 2022. Still, he’s a top finisher, someone who could make a real difference for Alonso next season.

Described by Italian legend Luca Toni as “one of the best strikers in the world”, Vlahovic hasn’t always sustained his highest level in front of goal for Juventus, but even after an injury-hit 2025/26 campaign, he scored ten goals across 23 games in all competitions.

But is he the cream of the crop? Is this a forward who could slash the distance between Chelsea and their rivals in north London? Vlahovic has left a lot to be desired on the fitness front in recent years, but in strict regard to his Serie A form, he might have scored seven goals from only 11 starts this term, but his 14% conversion rate is nothing to write home about in the slightest.

Torres also struggled to adapt, and given the slew of strikers who have failed to make the grade since then, surely there’s a case to be made that Vlahovic is not the solution at the beginning of the Alonso era.

Torres and Vlahovic are different players, but the Serbian would not arrive in Chelsea with any guarantees over his fitness and capacity to withstand the pressure and intensity of the Premier League.

For that, it might be worth focusing their efforts elsewhere, given the importance of landing a world-class goalscorer this summer.