Chelsea have opened talks with Juventus over a potential deal for Dusan Vlahovic this summer, according to reports in Italy. Mauricio Pochettino is keen to recruit a new striker for his Chelsea squad, although the club also have a decision to make over Romelu Lukaku, who will return to Stamford Bridge this summer following his season-long loan at Inter. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juve’s sporting director, Giovanni Manna, travelled to London over the weekend for discussions with Tottenham over a permanent deal for Dejan Kulusevski, but also spoke with Chelsea’s hierarchy to discuss Vlahovic’s signing. Juve spent €75m (£62.8m) on signing Vlahovic from Fiorentina in January 2022 and the 23-year-old has scored 23 goals in 63 appearances. After missing out on Champions League football due to their 10-point deduction in Serie A, Juve are open to selling Vlahovic in order to bolster their finances but are demanding an €80 million (£68.7m) transfer fee. Arsenal had also pushed hard to sign Vlahovic but the Serbia international was holding out for a move to Juventus at the time.
Chelsea have also reportedly joined the race to sign Kylian Mbappe after it emerged that he would not extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain. The French striker has just one year left on his deal with PSG, who could now leave on a free transfer next year. With Chelsea looking to strengthen their squad ahead of next season, they are looking at both Vlahovic and Mbappe as potential signings. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.