Chelsea received a huge blow in the pursuit of their long-term target Paulo Dybala, as recent reports brought to the fore suggests that he is in advanced talks with his current club, Juventus, for a contract extension. The 23-year-old Argentine forward, who has scored 35 goals in 74 games for the Italian giants, is seemingly keen to retain his services beyond the expiry of his current contract in 2020.
He was expected to sign a new deal last week when his agent was in Turin to conclude the deal. A failure in that sent the football world into frenzy instantly with reports circulating that the agreement might not happen at last. However, while speaking to Tuttosport, the Argentine assured that his future is well settled with the club.
He said, “Juventus and my agent have met in recent days and they have had the chance to talk… Talks are at a very advanced stage, even though my agent now has to return to Argentina because his son is about to be born. But everybody is positive and we are certain that the renewal will arrive. I know we’ve been talking about it since November, but it doesn’t only depend on me. You need to ask Juventus too.”
With the Champions League spot pretty much secured for Antonio Conte’s men, the Italian manager is bound to have some big plans coming summer in strengthening the squad. And now after missing out on the forward, we list out three strikers the Blues could actually target in place of the centre-forward.
Alvaro Morata
The Real Madrid academy product has been in the tremendous product of late and regular bench time despite impressing repeatedly week in week out, has spurred many to believe that the forward is looking for a place elsewhere. And Chelsea boss Conte has worked with him earlier during his loan stint with Juventus when they reached the Champions League final to lose out to Barcelona in the end.
With Diego Costa quite heavily linked with a move to China, Morata’s arrival to Stamford Bridge has high chances of happening.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The Borussia Dortmund forward has increasing chances of a move away from Germany at the end of the season with big names like Real Madrid and Manchester United looking to land him. He has been in prolific form for Dortmund this season scoring 21 goals in 21 appearances so far. At 187cm, Aubameyang has the perfect frame to work his way in the Premier League and immaculate finishing makes him one of the most highly-rated strikers in the world.
Marco Reus
Yet another Borussia Dortmund player, who is likely to leave SIGNAL IDUNA Park at the end of the season if BVB fail to progress well in the Champions League. Dortmund are third in the Bundesliga, 13 points behind league leaders Bayer Munich and after years of loyalty to the German side, the 27-year-old might consider moving to a Premier League side to play with the likes of Pedro, Costa, Hazard and more.
