Chelsea have missed out on one of their summer transfer targets in Montpellier striker Elye Wahi, reveals Fabrizio Romano. The 20-year-old has joined Ligue 1 side Lens.
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Chelsea Striker Plans Confirmed After Elye Wahi Blow
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Romano also adds that it is possible for the Premier League heavyweights to sign Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic – but that deal is on a “total stand-by” for the time being and that it can only be done if Romelu Lukaku signs for the Italian club.
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He wrote on his CaughtOffside blog: “Elye Wahi was close to joining Chelsea and then go on loan to Strasbourg. West Ham and Eintracht Frankfurt also had an interest in Wahi, but he’s decided to stay in Ligue 1 and join Lens – he wants to play Champions League football and gets the chance to replace Loic Openda at Lens. So it’s an important deal for the French club, he’s joining for €35 million (£29.9 million).
“Dusan Vlahovic was also linked with Chelsea recently, but he could still stay at Juventus for sure. At the moment that deal is on total stand-by and nothing is happening. Let’s see what happens with Chelsea, I don’t know the future but as of today, it’s on total stand-by. And it’s also worth emphasising that Vlahovic-Chelsea was only a possibility discussed with Romelu Lukaku as part of the deal, not without Lukaku.”
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What Else Are Chelsea Working On?
The Blues have had a proactive summer transfer window. They broke their transfer record to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton and signed Romeo Lavia from Southampton while signing a new goalkeeper in Robert Sanchez. They are also reported to be close to signing Djordje Petrovic from MLS side New England Revolution.
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But with many fans urging for a new striker, it remains to be seen if the Blues push for Vlahovic or any other forward in the final stretch of the summer window. They have already missed out on a promising young forward in Wahi, who has been described as a “clinical” striker in the past but still have potential options to look into improving their frontline.
Image Credit: Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0
