Exclusive: Pochettino identifies ideal Chelsea striker target but club want lower transfer fee

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has identified Dusan Vlahovic as an ideal striker target in this summer’s transfer window.

Posted Friday, August 04, 2023 by Caughtoffside.com

However, CaughtOffside understands that Chelsea's board remain keen to negotiate Juventus' asking price for the Serbian striker down, while Romelu Lukaku moving to Juve as part of the deal remains an option on the table.

Nicolas Jackson has started well for Chelsea in pre-season and has impressed Pochettino so far, though sources with a close understanding of the Blues' plans have informed CaughtOffside that Vlahovic is also viewed as an ideal profile for his team.

Senior figures at Chelsea, however, have balked at what are deemed as unreasonable and even "crazy" demands from Juventus, who value Vlahovic at as much as €80m. There is some hope that including Lukaku in the deal could mean CFC end up paying more like €35m to the Italian giants.

Talks are ongoing but don't seem particularly close to a conclusion at the moment, and it remains to be seen how much chance there is for either side to budge from quite distant starting points.

Exclusive: Pochettino identifies ideal Chelsea striker target but club want lower transfer fee
Dusan Vlahovic to leave Juventus for Chelsea?

Elsewhere, talks have also taken place over Trevoh Chalobah joining Inter Milan. With Axel Disasi joining from Monaco, it is now widely felt that Chalobah will leave for first-team football, with a loan or permanent exit possible.

Inter like Chalobah, CaughtOffside understands, but are still waiting to resolve their striker situation before pressing ahead with a deal for the Blues defender. Gianluca Scamacca is now the Nerazzuri's priority as Arsenal's asking price for Folarin Balogun is considered too high.

As well as Balogun, Inter have considered signing Takehiro Tomiyasu from Arsenal as well, but the Gunners are not actively looking to sell the Japan international, so are asking for too much money.