Chelsea made 'massive mistake' after £70m striker talks at Stamford Bridge

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·23 September 2023

Chelsea made 'massive mistake' after £70m striker talks at Stamford Bridge

Highlights

Chelsea missed out on signing Dusan Vlahovic, a highly regarded striker, during the summer and transfer insider Dean Jones believes it was a massive mistake. Vlahovic has been in impressive form for Juventus, scoring four goals in four games.
Current striker Nicolas Jackson has struggled to find the target, missing six big chances since the start of the season.
Chelsea may need to return to the transfer market in January to strengthen their forward line, with Jones suggesting that it would be difficult to find someone as good as Vlahovic.

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Chelsea missed out on signing Juventus centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic during the summer and transfer insider Dean Jones told GIVEMESPORT the reason why the Blues have made a ‘massive mistake’.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been victorious in just one of their opening five Premier League outings and have scored a mere five goals.

Three of those five goals came in a 3-0 home win over Luton Town as Raheem Sterling and summer signing Nicolas Jackson got on the scoresheet. Besides their emphatic win over the Premier League new boys, however, Chelsea’s results have been tarnished with misery, with two draws and losses apiece under their belt.

And that’s despite the west Londoners forking out £31.8m for Senegalese striker Jackson, who scored nine goals in the final eight La Liga matches last term. Since his arrival in England, however, he has scored the solitary goal. Jackson was not the only option on the Blues’ shortlist, though, as they also had one eye on Vlahovic, according to ESPN.

The Guardian reported that, while some figures admired Vlahovic and what he could bring to Stamford Bridge, Argentinian chief Pochettino was ‘unconvinced’ by the 23-year-old marksman, hence why a deal never came to fruition. However, he had confirmed, per 90min, that another striker could be in the pipeline in the final stages of the summer window...

"It is a difficult situation because we had two strikers in Nkunku and Broja, but they are injured. It is not easy in this moment to find the right profile. We are in the process, working to see if we can add some players in this area. But it is a job that is not easy for the club. For sure, they are working really hard to add some players."

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss may be regretting his decision given the Serie A gem has scored four goals in as many fixtures, while Jackson is often struggling to find the target having missed six big chances since the campaign got underway.

There are very few players in the game that are better than him – Dean Jones

The transfer insider holds the Serbia international in very high regard and suggested there are very few players on his level when he’s fully fit and on form. Jones also insisted the five-time Premier League champions could return to the market in January to alleviate their ever-growing frailties in front of goal.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said…

“When you consider they could have had Dusan Vlahovic, there was a conversation there between the two clubs, and they didn’t follow it up and go through with it, and now you see what Vlahovic did at the weekend. The two goals that he scored for Juventus were like prime number nine stuff – he’s so instinctive. “And when he’s playing like that, there are very few players in the game that are better than him. I think Chelsea have made a massive mistake, personally, by not going for Vlahovic properly. I still think Chelsea will have to go back into the market for a number nine in the January transfer window, and you’re going to struggle to find anyone that is as good as Vlahovic.”

Chelsea identify £100m striker they could sign in January

Pochettino and his entourage’s pursuit for a new striker could resurface in the winter transfer window after their poor – especially on the goalscoring front – start to 2023/24. Ivan Toney has been earmarked as a potential signing, though Chelsea would have to fend off north London duo Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur as they are both keen to enrich their ranks with his capable services, too, per Football.London.

Journalist Paul Brown has recently told GIVEMESPORT that if Chelsea were able to get their hands on the talismanic Brentford star, it would be a ‘great signing’. Should their interest in the one-cap England international intensify, they will have to wait until he has served the rest of his eight-month ban. Bees boss Thomas Frank has claimed, however, that it would take north of £100m to snare Toney from their grasp upon his return to Premier League action.