Chelsea officials in Italy for close look at 21 y/o striker, with ‘danger’ present | OneFootball

Chelsea officials have reportedly been in Italy to take a ‘closer look’ at a 21-year-old striker, whose club know ‘Premier League danger’ is present.

The Blues are no strangers to changing their strikers in search of the perfect fit. A couple of years ago, Nicolas Jackson was signed, but he’s since been loaned out to Bayern Munich, with Joao Pedro and Liam Delap signed in the summer as Chelsea’s current strikers.

Now, the Blues are on the lookout for another new No.9.

Gazzetta dello Sport has reported Chelsea have scouted 21-year-old Bologna forward Santiago Castro.

They report that the Blues, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa have all sent officials to Italy to take a ‘closer look’ at Castro. Villa are said to have been following the Argentine for the last two years.

Bologna – where Castro has five goals and an assist so far this season – face ‘Premier League danger’ and are looking to do something about that.

The striker’s deal expires in 2028 but Bologna want to give him improved terms, extending the deal until 2029 with an option for an extra year, and giving the striker €800,000 (£698,000) per year with €400,000 (£349,000) in bonuses.

The club are said to have met with Castro’s entourage and have laid the groundwork for the new deal, hoping it will be signed in January, in order to fend off interest from the Premier League trio.

The aforementioned sides would not have an issue with matching the terms that Bologna are offering, and with Castro valued at €40-50million (£34.9-43.6m) they could surely all make offers which the Serie A side would have to accept.

Bologna are aware of the strength of finances in the Premier League, having sold Joshua Zirkzee to Manchester United for £34.5million and Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal for £33.7million, rising to £42million.

As such, there is a chance that their record departure is surpassed by another sale to an English club.

The report does not suggest whether or not Castro wants to stay, or if he’d be open to a move away from Bologna, for whom he has 36 direct goal contributions in 75 games.