Chelsea's Vlahovic reality revealed by Romano

Stuart Telford

• 1 Oct 2023 09:36 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea were linked with a move for Dusan Vlahovic last summer but his transfer didn't materialise. Now Fabrizio Romano has revealed why.

Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich were all linked with the Serbia striker during the summer transfer window before signing Joselu, Randal Kolo Muani and Harry Kane respectively instead.

Vlahovic already has four goals in six Serie A games this season, but after 10 in 27 last term, Juve thought they could upgrade at No.9, and planned to do so with Romelu Lukaku, who has since left Chelsea for Roma on loan.

READ: REVEALED: Lukaku's STAGGERING wage cut and release clause after agreeing Chelsea exit

There was speculation the two clubs would swap strikers, but that hit a stumbling block.

"Chelsea never wanted Vlahovic as a priority target in the summer," explained Romano. "They had a different idea and also wanted to trust Nicolas Jackson.

Disagreement about player values

"However, they were looking for solutions to get rid of Lukaku and Juventus asked for €40m plus Lukaku for Vlahovic. But for Chelsea, the only way was a straight swap with no money involved.

Also, Pochettino together with the board was not convinced about the Vlahovic deal. The reality is that for Chelsea and Vlahovic it was never close and never a priority."

READ: Juventus' 10 most expensive transfers of all time

Jackon, who joined from Villarreal for €37m, looked promising alongside fellow new arrival Christopher Nkunku in pre-season, but with the former RB Leipzig man missing after knee surgery, he has since scored just two goals in eight competitive games.

Lukaku has made a positive start at Roma, meanwhile, scoring three from five matches.

Vlahovic is valued at €47m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, Lukaku at €37.5m, so it is understandable Chelsea baulked at the notion that there would be a €40m difference between the two players.