Chelsea came close to signing prolific Premier League striker

Chelsea return to Premier League action when they host in-form Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon. 

The Blues cruised to a 4-2 victory over Belgian side Genk in the opening round of UEFA Conference League group phase games on Thursday.

Enzo Maresca named an entirely changed 11 for the game at Stamford Briddge on Thursday, and he will likely revert to his preferred line up for the visit of Forest.

In the meantime, it has emerged that the Blues were very keen on signing an in-form Premier League striker over the summer.

According to Fabrizio Romano via GiveMeSport, the West London outfit were trying to sign Aston Villa’s hon Duran during the summer window.

The Colombian was linked with a move to Stamford Bridge for much of the summer, and Romano has revealed that a deal was in place that would have seen Duran sign for Chelsea, while midfielder Conor Gallagher would have moved to Villa Park.

Duran came close to joining Chelsea over the summer

The deal collapsed, though, when England international Gallagher decided against the switch, before later joining Spanish side Atletico Madrid.

Duran, 20, stayed put at Villa and has enjoyed an incredible start to the new season, scoring six times in nine games across all competitions.

He joined the Villains from MLS side Chicago Fire in January last year, and he has since scored 14 goals in 58 games for the Midlands club.

Duran is contracted to Villa until the end of the 2027/28 campaign, and he has now established himself as an integral part of Unai Emery’s squad.

The Colombia international netted the winner as Villa beat German giants Bayern Munich on Wednesday, in the opening round of matches in the Champions League group phase.

Instead, Chelsea ultimately ended up signing a number of players, including Joao Felix and Jason Sancho.