Vlahovic to Chelsea in January: The state of play - Fabrizio Romano

Carlo Garganese

8 Nov 2023 14:00 GMT
4 min read

Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus after Serie A draw with Bologna — © ProShots

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Juventus do not consider Dusan Vlahovic untouchable, opening up the possibility of Chelsea signing the striker in the January transfer market.

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Juventus had been open to selling Vlahovic this past summer and held negotiations with Chelsea over a swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku.

However, a deal could not be agreed and Vlahovic ended up staying at Juventus for the start of the 2023-24 season.

With Chelsea in the market for a striker in the January transfer window, will they return for Vlahovic?

What did Romano say about Vlahovic?

“Some fans have asked me about the situation around Dusan Vlahovic, as there was some talk of him leaving in the summer, although it’s been more quiet recently. My understanding is that the reason it’s quiet for now is because the situation is very much the same as last summer – Vlahovic is not considered one of the untouchable players at Juventus, but they want big money for him or they’d still be happy with him staying as happened in August,” Romano said on CaughtOffside.

“It’s also worth remembering that even in the summer, despite many stories, it was never that concrete for Vlahovic to leave Juve. Chelsea didn’t see the Serbian striker as a priority target, and were only ready to pursue a deal under the right conditions – a straight swap involving Romelu Lukaku, with no money changing hands.

© ProShots - A Vlahovic-Lukaku swap deal fell through in the past summer

Vlahovic’s disappointing Juventus transfer

Signing Vlahovic does involve some risk for Chelsea as he has been something of a disappointment at Juventus.

Vlahovic arrived in Turin as one of the hottest properties in world football in January 2022 for €80 million from Fiorentina.

He had just scored the most goals in Serie A in a calendar year for 60 years and was posting numbers comparable to Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski.

However, things have not worked out for him in Turin - although many have blamed the negative tactics of manager Max Allegri for not getting the best out of him.

He scored just 14 goals in 42 games last season and his overall game has been extremely disappointing.

This term, he has managed four goals so far - one a penalty - but he has again been criticised for his overall play and his inability to link up with teammates and hold the ball up. He has also now gone five games without a goal and has lost his place in the starting XI to Moise Kean.