Chelsea is in talks with one of the world’s most wanted players to be Xabi Alonso’s first big signing.
Chelsea is reportedly in talks with one of Europe’s top forwards, who could be Xabi Alonso’s first signing as head coach.
After a tough 2025/26 season, which saw both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior sacked, Chelsea ended up in tenth place in the Premier League. This led to Alonso being brought in to take charge.
Alonso, a former Liverpool midfielder, has a great reputation. He won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal with Bayer Leverkusen during their unbeaten 2023/24 season. He then moved to Real Madrid in 2025 but left by mutual agreement after seven months.
Managing Chelsea is a new challenge for Alonso, as the club has faced many problems despite spending a lot on players recently.
Some key players like Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernández might leave this summer, and Alejandro Garnacho could be on the move too. But Alonso might soon get his first signing. TEAMtalk says Chelsea is talking with the father of Dušan Vlahović about bringing the striker to Stamford Bridge.
Vlahović, 26, had a great four years at Juventus, scoring 68 goals in 168 games. His contract ran out, so he’ll be a free agent next month. Chelsea has been interested in him for years, and the player’s father, Milos, has been in talks with several clubs.
Italian news source La Gazzetta dello Sport says Newcastle, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich are also interested in the Serbian forward.
If Vlahović joins Chelsea, it might mean Liam Delap could leave, as Newcastle and Everton are said to be interested in the 23-year-old Englishman.
Vlahović was previously linked with Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, and AC Milan.
While a new contract with Juventus is still possible, it doesn’t seem very likely. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti wants to keep Vlahović but Juventus won’t offer more than €6 million plus bonuses, which may not meet his demands.
Last week, Juventus legend Giorgio Chiellini, now the club’s football strategy director, said Vlahović probably won’t stay in Italy because of his salary requests.
“I am very sad. He cared about Juve until the very end,” Chiellini said. “He is a serious professional. But with numbers like these, it’s understandable he wants a better salary elsewhere.”
According to Capology, Vlahović earned an impressive £370,000 a week while at Juventus.