Summary Chelsea's transfer activity this summer has focused on selling players rather than making new signings. Romelu Lukaku's move to Inter Milan permanently fell through after he was found speaking to rival club Juventus. Chelsea has been offered a swap deal involving Dusan Vlahovic, but it's up to Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino to decide whether to go ahead with it.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is the one who "has to give the green light" to the proposed swap deal of Romelu Lukaku and Dusan Vlahovic, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Is Dusan Vlahovic joining Chelsea this summer?
It has been a strange summer of transfer activity for the Blues this year. Despite still being one of the busiest clubs in Europe – as they always are – the vast majority of their business has been focused on selling the considerable array of stars they have accumulated over the previous windows.
So far, the club have managed to ship off several of the stars that helped them win the Champions League two years ago, with the likes of N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, and Kalidou Koulibaly leaving for the unimaginably wealthy Saudi Pro League.
Whereas Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, and Mateo Kovacic have opted to stay in the country but join Chelsea's Premier League rivals.
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While it's been an impressive effort from the West Londoners to sell so many players so quickly, there is one man that has proven to be a little more challenging to be rid of, Lukaku.
The Belgian's time as a Blues player has been nothing short of a disaster, as after a poor first season in the capital in which he was able to get the fanbase to turn on him – mostly thanks to that interview -, he spent the following year back in Italy, where he had a middling year for Inter Milan.
It was expected that he would make his move to the Nerazzurri permanent this summer, and it looked like it was going to happen until the Champions League runners-up found out he had been speaking to Juventus – their staunchest rival – and so they called off any negotiations and washed their hands with him.
This turn of events has left the Old Lady as the only viable destination for the former Inter man that would keep him in European football, and to try and sweeten the deal for Pochettino's side, they have offered a swap deal that would see Serbian forward Vlahovic go the other way – so long as Chelsea chipped in another €40m (£34m) to boot.
After offering this possibility to the West Londoners last month, the Turin side have offered it again, and with Lukaku happy to make the move, the decision has been left in the hands of new boss Pochettino, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:
"For Dusan Vlahovic, Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea manager, is thinking about that. He will take some days, it will be the weekend probably, to discuss internally, of course, with the board, but basically, for Chelsea, the decision is wait for something else for Romelu Lukaku or to go next week into negotiations with Juventus and reach an agreement for the swap deal: Lukaku, Vlahovic.
"So it has to be a strategy, but it is also important to understand what Pochettino wants to do with Dusan Vlahovic because more than one month ago, Chelsea said no to the swap deal between Lukaku and Vlahovic. Now Juventus are offering that again, they want €40m (£34m) as part of the deal.
"So it's Pochettino who has to give a green light to this move, and then we have to see if the two clubs can reach an agreement. Meanwhile, Lukaku already said yes to Juventus."
How good was Dusan Vlahovic last season?
Blues fans might not want to read this, but it wasn't a particularly good season for the Serbian international last year, nor has he found form since his move to the Bianconeri last January.
In his 27 Serie A appearances, he scored just ten goals, provided only two assists and could maintain a passing accuracy of just 72.1% – placing him 27th in the squad for his passing – per WhoScored.
His underlying numbers are also abysmal for a player that is expected to be amongst the best strikers in Italy and suggests that in a tougher league such as the Premier League, he could struggle yet further.
According to FBref, which compares players in a similar position across Europe's top five leagues, the Belgrade-born forward only sits in the top 28% for non-penalty expected goals, the top 39% for pass completion, the top 44% for assists, and the top 47% for non-penalty goals, all per 90.
It gets worse still, as he also sits in the bottom 34% for aerial duals won, the bottom 31% for progressive carries, the bottom 30% for shot-creating actions, and the bottom 28% for successful take-ons, also all per 90.
Ultimately, Chelsea find themselves between a rock and a hard place as they must move on Lukaku, but doing it through a swap for Vlahovic whilst paying €40m (£34m) seems like just another mistake.