Mauricio Pochettino wants Chelsea to sign a new striker this summer
A former striker has lauded Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic, comparing the 24-year-old to Erling Haaland amid rumours he might join Chelsea this summer.
Vlahovic had a quick start to the campaign, notching four goals in his first four Serie A appearances. However, he struggled between late September and mid-December, only finding the back of the net once in that period.
But the centre-forward has been in devastating form of late, with 10 goals to his name in his last nine matches. That includes braces against Sassuolo, Lecce and Frosinone, with Juve winning all three of those outings.
Vlahovic has been criticised at times during his Juve career, as he has not been able to replicate the fantastic form he previously showed at Fiorentina. However, the Serbia international is now thriving and is proving to be worth the £66.6million Juve spent on him in January 2022.
Vlahovic’s brilliant form has also led to renewed speculation about him moving to England. He was previously targeted by Arsenal, but it is now Chelsea who are the most likely Premier League club to strike a deal with Juve.
Chelsea’s No 1 target to lead their forward line is Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, but Paris Saint-Germain are hoping to land him as Kylian Mbappe’s replacement. Instead, Chelsea could look to sign Vlahovic, while sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that other options include Ivan Toney, Victor Boniface and Benjamin Sesko.
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Darko Kovacevic, who made 71 appearances for Juve between 1999 and 2001, has now given his verdict on Vlahovic.
In praise that may alert Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, Kovacevic has tipped Vlahovic to become ‘one of the best’ and match Haaland’s output.
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“No, because this is Dusan,” the pundit replied, when asked by Gazzetta dello Sport if he is surprised by Vlahovic’s recent form (via Football Italia). “He is – and has always been – a great striker, he just needed to find his best form. His talent has never been in question. We are talking about a young but complete centre-forward.
“Simply, he’s been going through a spectacular state of form since January and the many goals he’s scored are the natural consequence of that. I’m convinced and hope that this is only the start, Vlahovic is very strong and will score a lot for Juventus in the coming years.”
Kovacevic added: “I remain convinced that Dusan can become one of the best centre-forwards in the world. Yes, just like Haaland.”
Attention then turned to whether Vlahovic can reach 25 league goals this term. He is currently on 15 and has 12 games left to reach that milestone.
“Why not? If he maintains this form, I think Dusan can even score 10 goals between now and the end,” Kovacevic replied.
