One senior figure at Chelsea really likes £67m player, Blues now in talks to sign him

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One member of the board at Chelsea is a huge fan of Juventus No.9 Dusan Vlahovic, with the Blues now reopening talks to sign the striker.

That is according to Fabrizio Romano.

So, what was said about Dusan Vlahovic and Chelsea? Let’s take a look…

What’s the story?

Well, the reliable Italian journalist believes Juventus are hoping to sign Romelu Lukaku, and are insistent that their £66.6m striker heads to Stamford Bridge as part of the deal.

The Daily Mail have added further details to this situation.

They claim that Chelsea are willing to pay £38.5m for Vlahovic, with Lukaku heading to Turin as well after reopening discussions, having initially spoken about the 23-year-old earlier this summer.

Speaking on YouTube, Romano said: “There is someone in the Chelsea boardroom who really appreciates the player (Vlahovic), but they (Chelsea) didn’t want to proceed with Vlahovic as a target.

“It was the beginning of July – and also June – when there was a possibility, but Chelsea always said no to Vlahovic.

“Now, what’s happening is that, for Lukaku, the situation is on standby and it’s a big problem for Chelsea, because he’s on a big salary and it’s something they can’t resolve at the moment.

“Lukaku wants to stay in Europe despite proposals from Saudi Arabia. What’s going on now is that Juventus are insisting on a deal to send Vlahovic to Chelsea, and Lukaku to Juventus. What’s the point? Well, Juventus also want money, and want something around €40m (£34m) for Vlahovic. Let’s see how the discussion will go.”

Chelsea must not be bullied in Vlahovic saga

By the sounds of it, Juventus are forcing Vlahovic onto Chelsea, and the Blues are only considering it so Lukaku can be offloaded this summer.

In our view, while we understand the urgent need to get Lukaku and his £350,000-a-week wages away from Stamford Bridge, Mauricio Pochettino cannot just have a player dumped on him because of that.

Vlahovic himself would not come cheap either, as he is said to earn around £215,000-a-week at Juventus and will command a fee of around £34m as well, which Romano mentioned.

There must be a reason why Chelsea said no to the Serbian earlier this summer, so Pochettino must ensure he is not being coerced into a deal he doesn’t want to entertain.