Chelsea looking to swapping Vlahovic with Lukaku
By Nick Belotto
It looks like Dusan Vlahovic will be headed to England in the near future.
Reports from across the football world have indicated that Chelsea and Juventus are in talks for a striker swap. This would send Dusan Vlahovic to Stamford Bridge and Romelu Lukaku to Allianz Stadium. Nothing is set in stone as of yet. Both sides, however, have been eager to move on from their respective strikers. It would be safe to assume that both sides would want to get this deal done sooner rather than later.
The swap deal is a bit of a head-scratching move for Juventus. They should prioritize bringing in young talent as opposed to older, declining players.
This is an interesting, arguably unproductive, move from Juve’s perspective. They are going to be moving on from a striker with immense talent that is still very young. Vlahovic is only 23 years old. Even though he had a down year for the Bianconeri, he could easily turn it around for the club.
On the flip side, Juventus gets a striker who has had his fair share of struggles in the past few seasons. Lukaku used to be a strong player. The Belgian striker, however, has declined in recent years and has struggled to stay on the pitch due to injuries. It seems as though this would be the opposite of what Juventus should prioritize over the last few weeks of the summer.
Juventus needs to focus on building up young talent, not bringing in older players who may or may not be healthy for a whole season. To be fair, the team is hamstrung because of penalties and many top players may not want to come to Turin.
Regardless, Juve’s youth-filled gameplan shouldn’t be sacrificed even if they don’t play in European competitions next season.