Chelsea open talks to sign new striker

Xabi Alonso will want to stamp his authority on his brand new Chelsea side with plenty of transfers when the window reopens shortly.

With Marc Cucurella reportedly set to leave, the Blues have drafted up a list of targets in the left back department, with Alejandro Grimaldo – who used to play under Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen – named as one target in this area of the pitch.

Alongside adding defensive reinforcements, the middle of the road side from last season could be taken up a notch by some standout signings in attack, with the Blues eyeing up one striker, in particular.

Chelsea eyeing up deal for new striker

Joao Pedro had a potent first season calling Stamford Bridge home, with the ex-Brighton and Hove Albion striker powering home 15 Premier League goals from 35 league outings for the West London giants.

Yet, delving deeper into the team’s overall striker numbers away from the Brazilian’s output, Chelsea really don’t have a second-in-command striker who could deliver the goods, with Liam Delap only managing to score one league goal last campaign, as a major £30m disappointment from Ipswich Town.

This is where Dusan Vlahovic could come to the rescue, with the Juventus striker set to become a free agent at the close of June, which has piqued the interest of Alonso and Co.

CaughtOffside reports that Chelsea are the current frontrunner for the Serbian’s signature, stating that the Blues have even made contact with Vlahovic’s camp to iron out a potential deal.

Newcastle United, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur are also keen, as per the report, so it will be intriguing to see who, out of the Premier League onlookers named, wins the coveted 26-year-old.

How Vlahovic could be Alonso’s own Diego Costa

If Chelsea are successful with their advances, Alonso could be about to win his very own Diego Costa, as a new lethal striker who could transform the Blues back into a Premier League title challenger.

Costa very rarely needed a second invitation to score when utilised as Chelsea’s main striker across three productive seasons.

He instantly set the Premier League alight after his arrival from Atletico Madrid, with the 2014/15 campaign ending in Costa firing home a deadly 20 league goals, from only 26 matches.

Going on to tally up a devastatingly clinical 59 strikes from 120 total outings at Chelsea, he would further lead the Blues to two Premier League titles and a solitary EFL Cup success, with Jose Mourinho rightly lauding him as “special” in 2014.

The hope will be that Vlahovic can slot straight into Alonso’s set-up, if the Serbian swaps Turin for London, and be a Costa-like figure, with the number nine well-known at this point for being an unerring marksman in Serie A.

From 221 total appearances in the hustle and bustle of Serie A, the 26-year-old has bagged 94 goals and picked up 18 assists, with an injury-plagued season just gone still seeing Vlahovic collect a healthy ten goals, from only 1162 minutes of action.

Much like Mourinho showered Costa with praise, Vlahovic has also had various notable faces wax lyrical about his goalscoring ability, with ex-Fiorentina great Luca Toni hailing him as “one of the best strikers in the world”, two years into his Old Lady spell.

Strangely, his goalscoring prowess hasn’t resulted in the Turin giants winning any notable silverware. Still, if Alonso had both Vlahovic and Joao Pedro at his disposal, Chelsea would surely shoot up the Premier League table and improve on their 10th-place finish from last season, with another Premier League title potentially entering the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet.

Since Costa’s exit in 2017, Chelsea have been unable to etch their name on the famous trophy, despite the full-blooded Spaniard leading the Blues to two top-flight triumphs.

Could Vlahovic be the standout striker signing that’s needed to propel Alonso and Co. into title contention?

Only time will tell, but winning the Serbian on a free transfer is a steal that Chelsea would be foolish not to explore further.