Chelsea monitoring Serie A striker with January exit possible

The Premier League is back in less than two weeks and teams will undoubtedly already be preparing for the January transfer window, which opens less than a week later. 

All 20 top flight sides are in action between Boxing Day and December 28, although some teams will have already been involved in the Carabao Cup fourth round, which takes place during the week commencing December 19.

With several players having been involved in the World Cup in Qatar, plenty of managers will face tricky selection decisions as stars return to full fitness after the mid-season tournament.

With that in mind, the January transfer window will likely come at the perfect time for many managers.

One of those is Chelsea boss Graham Potter, who is under pressure to turn his side’s fortunes around.

The Blues were without a win in five Premier League matches prior to the World Cup break, and lost all three league games immediately before the tournament.

Now, Chelsea are reportedly looking to Serie A for attacking reinforcements.

According to Ben Jacobs, the London side have been in contact with the agent of Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic.

Vlahovic scored for Serbia against Switzerland at the World Cup

He claims that the player looks increasingly likely to leave the club next year, despite his contract running until 2026, and also reveals that an exit in January cannot be ruled out.

The Serbian has established himself as one of the best strikers in the Italian top flight, but Jacobs claims that it is increasingly likely that he will depart the club before his contract expires.

Vlahovic, 22, only joined The Old Lady in January from fellow Serie A side Fiorentina, but it appears that his time in Turin could already be coming to an end.

It is also claimed that Chelsea are one of a number of clubs to have made contact with the striker’s agent, although Jacobs does also insist that ‘nothing is particularly advanced at this point’.

To date, the Serbia international has scored 16 goals in 36 games for Juventus, including seven this term.

For Fiorentina, the forward was prolific, netting 49 times in 108 matches.

Chelsea are believed to be in the market for a striker and, while they were initially more likely to plot a move for next summer, the injury sustained by Armando Broja on Sunday may have prompted them to move in January.

The Albanian suffered an ACL injury that is expected to keep him out of action until next season, and The Blues could now attempt to sign Vlahovic next month.

Broja’s injury has left Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as Potter’s only striking options.