Chelsea's hopes of signing Dusan Vlahovic have been handed a boost as the player is no longer considered "untouchable" by Juventus, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Will Chelsea sign Vlahovic?
Despite being just 23-years-old, Vlahovic has been around for some time.
After becoming Partizan Belgrade's youngest ever player and goalscorer at just 16, Fiorentina were the ones who managed to snap up his signature for a now miniscule fee of £2.7m in 2018.
Following an impressive period with the Violets, scoring 49 goals in 108 games, Juventus were first on the scene to snatch him from Florence, parting ways with £66.6m in the process.
His time in Turin has been less fruitful, however, with just 23 goals in a year-and-a-half and he has been subject to significant criticism from some in Italy, albeit his arrival at Juventus has naturally coincided with one of the clubs more difficult spells on and off the pitch.
Vlahovic is still a brilliant number nine, something he has exhibited in patches at Juventus and in full with Serbia on international duty. There is still the feeling that the 6ft 2 striker of a forward will come good sooner rather than later.
That renaissance could be in the Premier League though, with Juventus softening their stance on the forward's availability amid interest from Chelsea, according to Romano.
The Blues are lacking a clinical number nine and despite having brought in Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson, there is a sense that Mauricio Pochettino would still like a more complete centre-forward to go alongside them.
There have been suggestions that £70m may be enough to land Vlahovic, with Chelsea not against spending large sums on players with huge potential.
Is Vlahovic up for sale?
According to Romano, an "important bid" could be enough to lure Vlahovic from the Allianz with Chelsea sniffing around the Serbian international.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano claimed: "He is an important player for Juventus and he remains an important player for Juventus, but from what I'm told also because of an internal decision of Juve, at the moment Vlahovic is not untouchable.
"He is not considered a player on the market, so Juventus are not desperate to sell Dusan Vlahovic, but if they receive an important, and I want to say again, really important bid for Dusan Vlahovic they are prepared to open negotiations."
He continued: "We had rumours about Chelsea in the recent hours. He's always been appreciated by people in the board at Chelsea but at the moment from what I'm hearing there is no bid from Chelsea, no negotiation with Juventus.
"So, at the moment nothing concrete to say about Chelsea and Dusan Vlahovic. Let's see what happens in the next weeks and months but Chelsea, I repeat, appreciated the player since long time, but not actively working on the deal as of now."
Romano adds that Paris Saint-Germain also hold an interest in the player as they look for a central striker in the window. Just like they did with Manuel Ugarte, the French champions could jump ahead of Chelsea if they act quickly.
Chelsea's main issue was scoring goals last season, only managing 38 in the 38 in the Premier League – significantly lower than relegated Leeds United and Leicester City.
Pochettino, especially given his preference for attacking football, will be desperate to fix the problem in the transfer market and Vlahovic could be a prime target to end Chelsea's goalscoring woes.
