Chelsea stun Arsenal with ‘advanced talks’ for world-class striker ON | OneFootball

The race to sign Julian Alvarez is heating up, with Chelsea reportedly moving into pole position despite Arsenal devising a plan of their own.

Alvarez left Manchester City in August 2024 by joining Atletico Madrid for a huge £82million. Since then, the centre-forward has scored 40 goals in 89 appearances for Atleti, while also putting up 13 assists; numbers which illustrate the World Cup winner’s prowess in front of goal.

Alvarez has been at the Metropolitano Stadium for less than two years, but he is already considering his next move. Alvarez has been left underwhelmed by the club’s project and is looking to join a club with genuine chances of winning league titles and the Champions League.

Our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, revealed Alvarez to be a target for Arsenal on January 30.

Sources have confirmed to Bailey that Arsenal could offer Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli in an attempt to bring Alvarez’s price down.

We revealed on Tuesday that Arsenal and Chelsea have both held positive talks with the Argentine’s camp. We understand Alvarez is prioritising a move to Barcelona, though they will struggle to afford him.

According to recent updates from CaughtOffside and ESPN Argentina, Chelsea ‘lead Arsenal in the race for Alvarez’, as they are in ‘advanced negotiations’ for the goalscorer.

Chelsea already have Joao Pedro and Liam Delap in their squad, but they view Alvarez as the world-class No 9 needed to fire them to Premier League glory.

It will take a bid worth in excess of €100m (£87m / $119m) to sign Alvarez, and potentially as much as €120m (£104.5m / $143m).

The 26-year-old is not the only striker Chelsea are keen on. Our transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, has revealed that Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are showing the most interest in Dusan Vlahovic, who is eager to move to the Premier League.

New Chelsea striker to replace Delap?

Chelsea appear best-placed to land the Juventus star, as he wants to join a Champions League club when his contract expires this summer.

Either Alvarez or Vlahovic could replace Delap at Stamford Bridge. Sources told us last week that Delap is playing for his Chelsea future in the second half of the campaign.

TEAMtalk’s Dean Jones has confirmed that Chelsea are assessing the striker role for potential signings and exits, with Delap under increasing pressure to perform.

The 23-year-old’s previous suitors, such as Manchester United, Newcastle United and Everton, are keeping tabs on his situation in case he becomes available for transfer.

Delap has only scored three times for Chelsea so far and has lost his starting spot to Pedro.

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