Juventus have now told Mauricio Pochettino he can sign Dusan Vlahovic if Chelsea offer €25m (£21m) and Romelu Lukaku.
That is according to Corriere dello Sport.
So, what is the situation involving Dusan Vlahovic and Romelu Lukaku? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, this seems like quite an attractive deal for Chelsea, in which the Blues would get themselves a new striker, and also offload an unhappy player in the Belgium international.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Lukaku has no intention of returning to London for pre-season training, with the Guardian claiming that he is keen on a return to Italy.
Interestingly, Corriere dello Sport believe the 30-year-old has told Juventus he is willing to join, and the Italian giants will now look to close a deal with Chelsea this week by offering Vlahovic in return.
Juventus do – however – want £21m as well, given the fact they spent £66.6m on the Serbia international.
Vlahovic scored ten goals in 27 Serie A outings last season.
It was a similarly underwhelming campaign for Lukaku in Italy’s top-flight as well, with the Belgian also scoring ten goals, albeit in 25 Serie A appearances.
Pochettino can kill two birds with one stone at Chelsea by offloading Lukaku for Vlahovic
As aforesaid, Lukaku is allegedly planning to cause issues at Chelsea by refusing to turn up for pre-season training,
Therefore, it is in Pochettino’s best interests to get rid of him, and what better way to do that than to receive Vlahovic in return, with a relatively small fee leaving Chelsea’s bank account too.
According to Rudy Galetti, Pochettino views the Juventus No.9 as the perfect striker for his plans at Stamford Bridge, and is desperate to bring him to west London.
Therefore, this player-plus-cash offering seems too good to be true for Chelsea.
Hopefully, Todd Boehly is willing to sanction the deal, as it would solve two problems in one for Pochettino this summer.
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