Juventus will take Chelsea bid for £71m star ‘seriously’; Loftus-Cheek ‘keen’ to join new club
Chelsea have joined the race to sign Aston Villa-linked Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, according to an Italian football agent.
The Serbian international moved to Italy when Fiorentina signed him from Partizan for a measly fee believed to be in the region of £2million in 2018.
He scored 49 goals in 108 games for the Florence outfit before joining Juventus for around £71m in the 2022 January transfer window.
Vlahovic, who has 13 goals in 21 games for Serbia, snubbed interest from Premier League club Arsenal to join the Old Lady.
The Gunners chased the 23-year-old for the majority of the 2022 winter window only to miss out, which many believe cost Mikel Arteta’s men top four last season.
Arsenal have remained linked with Vlahovic despite his blatant rejection of them and the fact they signed Gabriel Jesus for £45m last summer.
READ MORE: Arsenal chase of Vlahovic represents the fine line between ambition and fantasy
Arteta’s side are not expected to make a bid for Vlahovic this summer despite his future at Juventus being up in the air given their struggles off the pitch.
Manchester United have been strongly linked in recent months and a report from Spanish newspaper AS in February hinted that the Red Devils negotiated a €120m deal for the Serbian striker in the 2023 winter window.
And rather surprisingly, Aston Villa are reportedly interested in signing Vlahovic this summer, in what would be an extremely ambitious acquisition.
Villa and United could be set to face competition from Chelsea, however.
Italian football agent Massimo Brambati has said that Juventus are expected to take offers from the Blues “seriously”.
“There are three teams that showed up,” Brambati told TMW Radio. “In my opinion, Juve will take these offers seriously.
“All of them have an important profile, because they’re Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.”
Chelsea do need a new No. 9 but they will have to flog a number of first-team players in the summer.
The Blues have spent a shedload of money since Todd Boehly bought the club last May and their squad is far too big as a result.
One player who could leave on a permanent basis is Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Italian giants AC Milan have made the England midfielder a ‘priority target’.
Loftus-Cheek is ‘keen on the move’ with Chelsea desperate to trim their playing squad.
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