Chelsea are interested in a move for Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, who has been persistently linked with a move away from Turin this season.
The club have been churning out signings with the force of an unabating storm, with over £400m spent since American businessman Todd Boehly assumed ownership of the club last year, but one area largely neglected is the centre-forward deployment.
According to prominent Italian outlet CalcioMercato, the Serbian sensation Vlahovic could indeed find himself spearheading the Blues' charge in short time, with Boehly and Christopher Vivell allegedly willing to sweeten a deal for the striker with the offering of Romelu Lukaku within the package.
And with Chelsea's current centre-forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is now 33 years old and has scored just three times since his summer arrival from Barcelona, unlikely to be the beacon to light the way over the coming seasons, the Old Lady's 23-year-old marksman could strike home at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea's own Haaland
Erling Haaland's introduction to the Premier League has resulted in cataclysmic consequences for his opposition, with the monstrous 22-year-old having scored a ridiculous 25 times from his first 19 appearances in the competition.
The £51m Manchester City phenomenon is a once-in-a-generation talent, a forward with an innate goal-scoring sense not dissimilar to an animal's primal instincts; while replicating the former Borussia Dortmund sensation might be fruitless, completing an acquisition with semblance to someone of his ilk could bear fruit for an outfit such as Chelsea.
Vlahovic, who has been a steady presence at the Allianz Stadium since arriving from divisional rivals Fiorentina in a £66.6m deal a year ago, despite Juventus' internal strife, has chalked up 16 goals from 37 appearances for his current team, following an exceptional spell with la Viola, plundering 49 goals from only 108 appearances during his maiden professional period, to announce himself to European football in resounding fashion.
The “monster” – as dubbed by reporter Carlo Garganese – possesses such a devastating calibre that he has actually been likened to the aforementioned Haaland, with Serbian FA president, Nenad Bjekovic. saying that the 19-cap gem is "better and more complete than Haaland".
While such an argument can only be made while wading through turbulent waters, it does speak volumes for Vlahovic's knack at finding the back of the net, and with an expansive pool of talent only growing further in west London, the Juventus talisman could find himself at the front of a machine charged with the finest of oil.
And as per FBref, with the ace residing within the top 14% of forwards in Europe's top five leagues for progressive passes received and the top 17% for total shots, he can harness a poaching prowess and level up at Chelsea.
City's Haaland is a striker scarcely seen before, such is the inconceivable power of his goal-scoring prowess, but with Vlahovic indeed lauded for boasting a 'more complete' skill set to the imperious Norwegian prodigy, he could be the offensive outlet Chelsea need in order to forge an immediate future littered in footballing superiority.