Chelsea are looking for innovative ways to get rid of Romelu Lukaku as the Belgian is not in the plans of Mauricio Pochettino. At the same time, the Blues are interested in bringing Dusan Vlahovic to Stamford Bridge in an attempt to equip the frontline with a lethal striker and ease the goalscoring worries.
The Lukaku saga has dragged on for far too long as CFC have tried to offload him. Inter Milan were keen to sign the 30 year old with meetings also held between Inter chiefs and Chelsea to reach an amicable agreement. However, the news of Lukaku even talking to Juventus irked Inter Milan and they walked away from the negotiations with the deal being off.
Juve are interested in the burly Belgian forward but their pursuit will depend on Vlahovic’s future. In case of the Serbian’s exit, the Old Lady will activate the Lukaku operation. Initially, there was interest from PSG for Vlahovic but the French giants proceeded to sign Goncalo Ramos from Benfica.
Chelsea and Juventus could speed up Dusan Vlahovic-Lukaku swap deal
Chelsea have been linked to Vlahovic all summer and finally, a swap deal option was explored by both the clubs that would see the Serb sign for the West London club and Lukaku would join Juve. According to The Express, CFC have reached an agreement Juventus on the valuation of Lukaku. The swap deal could now pick up pace as the Belgian’s valuation has been agreed. The former Inter Milan forward is valued at £34.4 million and Chelsea will have to top up some cash plus Lukaku to entice Juventus into selling Vlahovic.
The agreement over the cash to be paid has not yet been agreed as Chelsea made their first offer that was Lukaku plus £17.2 million in cash, taking the deal worth to £51.6 million. If Bianconeri accept this offer, Chelsea would manage to kill two bird with one stone, first, offloading the Belgian striker and second, signing a dangerous forward like Vlahovic to lead the line at Stamford Bridge.
CFC could raise their first offer and accelerate the deal following the knee injury to Christopher Nkunku that has ruled him out for over three months. The Blues have signed Nicolas Jackson and the Senegalese forward has impressed Pochettino during the pre-season but CFC do need another striker in the squad.
Will CFC sign Dusan Vlahovic by the end of this week?