Chelsea are said to be pushing to sign a top attackerplaceholder image
Chelsea are said to be pushing to sign a top attacker | Getty Images
Chelsea are now said to be rivalling Arsenal to land a world-class striker.
Chelsea are now said to be advancing with talks to sign an attacker Arsenal have been linked with in recent days. The Blues had a very quiet winter transfer window, ultimately deciding to pull out of the Jeremy Jacquet race after being told a deal would not be done in January.
Liverpool ended up agreeing a deal ahead of the summer, and Chelsea recalled Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg.
Liam Rosenior will have to make do with Sarr’s recall, though he has spoken about his admiration for the centre-back having already worked with him in France. Having not spent in January, Chelsea should now have more space to invest during the summer window, having had to be careful with their spending in recent times due to Financial Fair Play rules.
Players are already being linked, and according to ESPN Argentina, Atletico Madrid superstar Julian Alvarez is someone Chelsea are considering signing. They say the Blues are ’advancing’ in their negotiations, and it’s claimed that they have moved ahead of Arsenal in the race to land the Argentine.
Alvarez, who is a proven Premier League commodity having succeeded with Manchester City in a short spell there, has scored 40 times in 89 appearances for Atletico Madrid since his £84million move.
This season, Alvarez has scored 11 and assisted five, but he is now on a run of 12 league games without a goal, and there are murmerings of the attacker being unhappy with Diego Simeon’s style of play after a system tweak this season.
Chelsea would likely have to spend big to land Alvarez, but they do arguably need another out-and-out striker to compete with Joao Pedro, with Liam Delap seemingly not ready to fulfil that leading man at a top club role just yet.
As for Arsenal, sporting chief Andrea Berta signed Alvarez for Atletico Madrid during his time there, but it’s tough to see where the Argentine fits in amid the presence of Viktor Gyokeres, who is the clear starter, while the Gunners also have Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to provide competition.
What has been said about a move
Atletico Madrid boss Simeone hit back at claims over an upcoming Alvarez move. He said recently when quizzed on the exit links: “Seriously? Are you seriously asking me that? The truth is that Julian Alvarez speaks for himself, because of the name he has, the authority he carries, and the career he’s built, right?"
Meanwhile, Alvarez’s agent, Fernando Hidalgo, has said: “Any club interested in Julian should contact Atletico Madrid’s management, as the player is under contract and committed to the club. It’s not true, I haven’t met with Deco or anyone from Barcelona during the current period.”
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