Chelsea ‘agree’ key part of £34.5m striker deal as Romano claims injury blow could ‘change plans’
According to reports, Christopher Nkunku’s serious injury could force Chelsea to “change” their transfer “plans” before the summer window closes.
Nkunku is one of Chelsea’s marquee summer signings and a lot was expected of him this season after they scored just 38 Premier League goals last season.
The 25-year-old is coming off an impressive few seasons in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig. Last season, he grabbed 23 goals and nine assists in 36 appearances across all competitions.
His time at Chelsea has unfortunately got off to a nightmare start as he has suffered an injury that could keep him out for up to four months.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano is now reporting that this injury blow “could really change some of Chelsea’s plans this summer”.
“Chelsea will clarify the situation of Christopher Nkunku. We know he had a knee injury during a friendly game in the United States, so we’ll wait for clarity about that. Of course, the situation will be monitored because this could really change some of Chelsea’s plans this summer,” Romano told Caught Offside.
“We know they are negotiating a swap deal with Juventus, intermediaries are at work. Juventus want €40m euros for the Romelu Lukaku/Vlahovic swap deal to go through, but it’s really important to understand what happens with Nkunku and how Chelsea will react to the injury, how they want to act on the transfer market.
“Remember that for the Vlahovic deal, Pochettino this season is crucial. At the moment it’s just a discussion between Juve and Chelsea via intermediaries, but to proceed and to say, ‘Okay, let’s go on with this deal and let’s find a way,’ it has to be Mauricio Pochettino who has to accept Dusan Vlahovic as an option as a new striker. So let’s follow that one.”
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Chelsea have also signed Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal this summer but as Romano mentions, they are also hoping to sign Vlahovic from Juventus.
The former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur target has scored 23 goals in 63 appearances for the Serie A giants since joining them in January 2022.
Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport are reporting that Vlahovic is ‘at the centre of a negotiation between Chelsea and Juventus’.
Lukaku looks set to be brought back to Serie A as part of the ‘same operation’. It is said that ‘the clubs have already found an agreement for the Belgian for a valuation of 40 million’ but the same cannot be said for Vlahovic.
Though it is noted that Nkunku’s injury could ‘speed up’ the process and it is currently expected that Vlahovic will end up at Chelsea before the summer transfer window closes.
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