Chelsea hold new discussions over signing £150m striker in last 48 hours

Chelsea are believed to have held fresh discussions over signing a marquee new striker within the last 48 hours, as Todd Boehly and the recruitment team look to back new manager Enzo Maresca with a prolific frontman this summer.

Chelsea targeting new striker in search of more goals

The west Londoners are believed to be in search of a new focal point up front, after being so heavily reliant on the likes of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson for their output last season.

The attacking pair notched an impressive 42 goals between them in all competitions for Chelsea, but it remains the case that co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley are keen to bring in a new striker.

Chelsea were believed to be serious contenders for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, as they were repeatedly linked in the build-up to this summer window. However, reports mentioning the Nigerian have cooled somewhat, with the Blues instead targeting alternatives.

They’ve since held talks with Aston Villa over a move for Jhon Duran (Fabrizio Romano), which again failed to materialise, while they continue to be linked with a succession of forwards.

An interesting name to have cropped up in the last week, and backed by reliable media sources, is Newcastle United star Alexander Isak. The Sweden international starred under Eddie Howe last season, but Newcastle’s PSR situation means they’re under some pressure to sell their best assets.

Chelsea hold new discussions with Newcastle over Isak

According to Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie, Chelsea have had new contact with Newcastle over Isak, after making their original enquiry earlier this week.

These fresh discussions have come within the last 48 hours, happening on Friday. Downie says Isak is valued at above £100m, while ESPN has relayed that he could cost as much as £150 million – which would be a British record.

It remains to be seen whether Boehly and co are willing to go anywhere near that high, but Isak certainly has the quality to justify Chelsea’s interest.

“His whole game is really, really top-notch,” said Newcastle legend Alan Shearer to Match of the Day on Isak’s performances last season.

“His runs are superb. If you just watch how clever he is when he doesn’t get the first pass played in, he then goes behind a defender to come back in and bend his run to make sure that he is onside, then he can make a really clever finish.

“He can also come deep and drop deep, so he is asking different questions of the defenders by saying: ‘Are you going to come with me or are you going to drop off?’ If you drop off, he has got the ability to hurt you there. He is just a constant threat all the time. His finishing is excellent and his penalty taking is as good as they come. He is confident and cool and believes in everything he is doing.

“We know that once he gets away over the top, he is going to cause you an absolute nightmare. His ability to link up and his understanding [is brilliant]. Everything about his game is of the highest quality. He has scored 19 goals in 23 games – that is a very, very good record.”