Chelsea have made contact over a deal to sign Dusan Vlahovic on a free transfer from Juventus this summer, according to CaughtOffside.
Vlahović first established himself as one of Italy’s most exciting forwards during his time with Fiorentina, where a series of impressive performances persuaded Juventus to make a significant financial commitment to secure his services and hand him a lucrative contract.
The 25-year-old produced 17 goals and five assists across all competitions last season, but he has found it difficult to replicate those numbers in the current campaign. Persistent injury setbacks have disrupted his rhythm and contributed to a decline in output, with the Serbian managing just 12 goal involvements this season.
His future in Turin has been a persistent discussion recently, but he now appears set to leave after an agreement on a fresh contract seemed improbable.
Vlahovic will leave Juventus having scored 68 goals and provided 16 assists in what has been an injury-hit 168 appearances for the club, especially in the recently concluded season, when he missed 133 games due to injury.
The 6ft 2i in forward is now set to become a subject of keen interest among several clubs across Europe, particularly in the Premier League.
One of the clubs looking to sign him is Chelsea, according to CaughtOffside, which claims that the London giants are among the most ‘advanced contenders’ in the race to sign the 26-year-old.
Bargain swoop
It appears the club are already accelerating their efforts to sign him, as the report adds that the Blues have made formal contact with the centre-forward’s camp over his potential transfer to Stamford Bridge this summer.
However, Chelsea face fierce competition from several clubs, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Napoli and AC Milan in the race to sign Vlahovic on a free transfer, CaughtOffside adds.
From a statistical standpoint, Vlahović would represent an upgrade on Liam Delap. While Delap found the net only once in 28 Premier League appearances during the 2025/26 campaign, Vlahović scored seven goals in 19 Serie A matches.
The Serbian also edged Delap in shooting efficiency, recording a 47.4% shots-on-target rate compared to 42.3%, while his 14.3% conversion rate comfortably surpassed Delap’s 2.8%.
In addition, Vlahović registered 83 touches inside the opposition penalty area, compared to Delap’s 67, and posted a superior ground-duel success rate of 43.6% against the Englishman’s 37.6% in domestic league action last season.
The more significant question for Chelsea, however, may not be his quality but whether Vlahović would be willing to accept a role similar to Delap’s within the squad hierarchy.
