Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic is a player that Chelsea “appreciate”, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

However, while the Blues are keeping tabs on the Serbian international, Romano has emphasised that the London club have “never” tabled an official offer:

“For Vlahovic, he’s a player they appreciate. They already had his name on their list in January. Of course, he was untouchable for Juventus, but Vlahovic is a player Chelsea appreciate, but they have never made a bid.”

It was reported last week that Chelsea had suggested using Romelu Lukaku in a swap deal for Vlahovic, but Romano has dismissed claims that any such proposal was made.

Vlahovic could still cost a sizeable sum despite having a poor season

The 23-year-old is believed to be valued at around €80m (£68.9m) by Juve, which is pretty much the same price that the Serie A side paid Fiorentina for the striker eighteen months ago.

Considering Vlahovic has had a pretty poor season in front of goal, Chelsea are unsurprisingly having second thoughts about making an approach for the player.

The Serbian scored just 10 goals in the league, and 14 in all competitions. While some of his struggles have been blamed on Max Allegri’s negative tactics, he has yet to really deliver in a Juventus shirt.

Even so, interest in Vlahovic remains pretty high. In addition to the Blues, the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle have been credited with an interest over the past few weeks.

It remains to be seen, though, whether any team will come close to matching the forward’s current valuation. If Juve do want to sell him this summer, you do feel that they will have to lower their demands.

Chelsea could be eyeing alternatives to Vlahovic

If Vlahovic proves to be too expensive, there are other options that the Blues could consider. The London club are known to be big fans of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen but he would cost in excess of £130m.

Cheaper alternatives include the likes of Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund, Montpellier’s Elye Wahi and, potentially, Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic.