Chelsea have reportedly held Stamford Bridge talks to sign a Premier League striker, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Chelsea eyeing new striker
The Blues may well be busy in the final days of the January transfer window, with the possibility of a new striker being needed in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
Nicolas Jackson is currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations, and besides the Senegal international, Armando Broja is the only fit and available senior striker on the books, which may surprise some given the club have spent over €1bn since Todd Boehly’s arrival.
Pochettino’s attacking options could soon be down to just Jackson as well, given recent reports have claimed that Chelsea are open to selling Broja on a permanent basis. The Albanian has no shortage of suitors in the top-flight, with Crystal Palace, Fulham, West Ham and Wolves all expressing an interest in a potential £35m transfer.
Should that be the case and Broja ends up leaving for one of the mentioned clubs, then a new forward may need to be landed if the club are to continue to climb up the Premier League table.
Four forwards that have been offered to Chelsea are AZ Alkmaar’s Vangelis Pavlidis, Zenit St Petersburg’s Mateo Cassierra, Cercle Brugge’s Kevin Denkey and Atletico Mineiro’s Paulinho as short-term solutions, but it looks as if the Blues are eyeing an option closer to home.
Chelsea hold “internal talks” for Aston Villa forward
According to Romano, Chelsea are eyeing up a move for Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran and have held Stamford Bridge talks over a potential deal. However, any move also appears to be dependent on Broja’s future.
However, since then, it has been revealed that Duran is set to be sidelined for the next three weeks with a hamstring injury, something which could scupper a move as Jackson will be back at the Bridge in that time.
Duran made the move to Villa Park 12 months ago but has struggled to make a significant impact under Unai Emery, mainly playing second fiddle to Ollie Watkins. The 20-year-old, who is a Colombia international, could therefore be open to the idea of moving to London, should the opportunity arise for more game time.
He may also represent a shrewd replacement for Broja, with some of the pair’s career stats highlighted below, as per FBref.
Matches played
98
88
Minutes
4,287
4,594
Goals
19
18
Expected goals
9.8
16.1
Assists
7
2
Expected assists
1.9
3.4
The youngster has also previously earned the praise of Football Talent Scout's Jacek Kulig, who hailed the forward on X back in 2022:
It looks as if a deal for Duran will be one to keep an eye on, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Blues make their move.
