According to transfers specialist Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino “needs to give the go-ahead” for the proposed trade involving Romelu Lukaku and Dusan Vlahovic.
Dusan Vlahovic is expected to join Chelsea this summer.
This summer’s transfer activity for the Blues has been peculiar. The main majority of their activity has been concentrated on selling the enormous array of stars they have amassed over the past windows, despite the fact that they are still one of the busiest clubs in Europe as they always are.
N’Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, and Kalidou Koulibaly, among others, have already left the club for the unfathomably opulent Saudi Pro League. These players were among the talents who helped the team win the Champions League two years ago.
Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, and Mateo Kovacic, though, have chosen to remain in the nation and join Chelsea’s Premier League competitors.
While the West Londoners’ effort to offload so many players so fast has been commendable, Lukaku has proven to be a little trickier to get rid of.
The Belgian’s time as a Blues player has been nothing short of a disaster, as after a poor first season in the capital in which he was able to get the fanbase to turn on him – mostly thanks to that interview -, he spent the following year back in Italy, where he had a middling year for Inter Milan.
It was anticipated that he would make his move to the Nerazzurri permanently this summer, and it appeared that it was going to happen until the runners-up in the Champions League learned that he had been speaking to Juventus, their fiercest rival and that they had to end all negotiations and wash their hands of him.
With Chelsea contributing an additional €40 million (£34 million), the Old Lady is now the only possible destination for the former Inter player that would keep him playing in Europe. To try to sweeten the deal for Pochettino’s team, they have offered a swap deal that would see Serbian forward Vlahovic go the other way.
Transfer analyst Fabrizio Romano reports that after presenting this option to the West Londoners last month, the Turin side has done so once more. With Lukaku eager to depart, the decision has been given to new manager Pochettino.
On his YouTube channel, he gave a situational explanation and stated:
“Mauricio Pochettino, manager of Chelsea, is considering that for Dusan Vlahovic. In general, Chelsea’s decision is to wait for something else for Romelu Lukaku or to enter negotiations with Juventus next week and come to an agreement for the swap deal: Lukaku, Vlahovic. He will take a few days, probably the weekend, to discuss internally, of course, with the board.
“So it has to be a strategy, but it is also important to understand what Pochettino wants to do with Dusan Vlahovic because more than one month ago, Chelsea said no to the swap deal between Lukaku and Vlahovic. Now Juventus are offering that again, they want €40m (£34m) as part of the deal.
“So it’s Pochettino who has to give a green light to this move, and then we have to see if the two clubs can reach an agreement. Meanwhile, Lukaku already said yes to Juventus.”
How effectively did Dusan Vlahovic last year?
The Serbian international’s season last year wasn’t all that great, and he hasn’t found form since joining the Bianconeri in January. Blues fans might not want to read this.
According to WhoScored, in his 27 Serie A appearances, he managed just ten goals, two assists, and a passing accuracy of just 72.1%, which put him 27th in the team.
His fundamental statistics are especially dismal for a guy who is anticipated to be among the top strikers in Italy, and they indicate that he may struggle much more in a more competitive league like the Premier League.
The forward from Belgrade only ranks in the top 28% for non-penalty expected goals, the top 39% for pass completion, the top 44% for assists, and the top 47% for non-penalty goals, all per 90, according to FBref, which analyses players in a similar position throughout Europe’s top five leagues.
Even worse, he also ranks in the bottom 28% for winning successful take-ons, the bottom 31% for winning aerial duels, the bottom 30% for shot-creating actions, and the bottom 24% for progressive carries, all per 90.
In the end, Chelsea is forced to let Lukaku go because they must, but trading for Vlahovic while spending €40 million (£34 million) feels like another error.