Chelsea on alert to fresh chance to sign Juventus striker – but should 12-game goal drought deter them? | OneFootball

Chelsea have been freshly linked with a striker who was one of the most desirable free agents from the summer just gone, but is already at risk at the club he joined. But should the reasons why concern the Blues?

There could still be space for Chelsea to add another striker to their squad, despite bringing in two over the summer. Liam Delap and Joao Pedro arrived from Ipswich Town and Brighton respectively, representing the kind of long-term recruitment favoured by the current Chelsea regime.

But clubs with Chelsea’s ambitions need proven quality at both ends of the pitch, which could leave the door open for a more experienced centre-forward to join the ranks in the future, with Pedro having started more convincingly than Delap at Stamford Bridge so far.

One candidate to add to the strike force Enzo Maresca can pick from is, according to the Italian media, Juventus’ Jonathan David.

Following on from similar information from La Gazzetta Dello Sport this week, Tuttomercatoweb is the latest source to link David with a move to Chelsea, potentially as early as January amid his struggles to convince Juventus.

With 109 goals for Lille behind him, David embarked on his new challenge in Italy this summer ready to reach greater heights.

The 25-year-old scored on his Juventus debut, but has since drawn a blank in his next 12 appearances. Now, Italian sources such as TMW are claiming he could be cut adrift in January.

Chelsea – along with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur – are said to be ‘making their assessments’ on David, according to TMW‘s Niccolo Ceccarini.

If Juventus decide to let David go – which would allow them to turn a quick profit on a player they didn’t have to pay a transfer fee for – then Chelsea could pounce.

But should they see David’s current fortunes as reason for encouragement or discouragement over a potential transfer?

Should Chelsea be tempted by David?

On one hand, Chelsea may have missed the best opportunity to sign David, but this could be the second best. If Juventus are willing to sell him so soon, they could make him available for a bargain price.

On the other hand, with the start Pedro has made to his Chelsea career (with three goals and three assists from his first 10 league outings), any striker the Blues bring in next will have to be a considerable upgrade, or else it will have been a pointless move.

Until now, David has taken every step of his career in his stride, from flourishing at Gent to consolidating his reputation with Lille. On paper, he could be a better centre-forward for Chelsea. But he’s now hit a stumbling block that puts that in doubt.

Dusan Vlahovic is in better form for Juventus at the moment, which is interesting given he’s in the final year of his contract in Turin.

The Old Lady will be wondering whether to renew the Serbian striker’s contract, which if they do so, could lead to David’s opportunities becoming blocked.

In that case, a Premier League move might finally take shape for the Canada international.

Chelsea will need to carefully calculate whether David is the right player they should be going for. Tottenham’s need might be greater, with Randal Kolo Muani struggling to convince while on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

Ironically, Kolo Muani was on loan at Juventus himself for the second half of last season and David has thus effectively replaced him already.

It might be a more appropriate move for him than Chelsea, but much will depend on how the next couple of months unfold before the January transfer window and whose need becomes greater.

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