Chelsea tipped to complete audacious swoop on Man City as Boehly identifies solution to Blues struggles
Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez applaud Manchester City fans
Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly has landed on the player who will drag his team up the Premier League table and it could result in a massive raid on Manchester City, according to a report.
Boehly will have been hoping for a hugely successful season after spending over £600million in the last two transfer windows. This spending spree resulted in top players such as Enzo Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Wesley Fofana and Raheem Sterling arriving at Stamford Bridge.
The new Chelsea owners also sacked Thomas Tuchel and brought in Graham Potter to head up their project. However, Potter struggled to adapt to the magnitude of the job at hand and also failed to get the best out of the talented group of players.
Potter ended up being axed just like Tuchel and Frank Lampard has joined on an interim basis until the end of the campaign. But according to former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino, the Blues have gotten worse under Lampard after losing their last three games.
Chelsea have dropped down to 11th place in the Premier League, meaning they are very unlikely to be playing in any European competition next term. Plus, they will struggle to reach the Champions League semis after losing the first leg of their quarter-final clash 2-0 to Real Madrid.
According to Goal’s live transfer blog (17/04 at 15:57), which cites reports coming out of Spain, Boehly has identified centre-forward as the main position which needs improving and is therefore planning a big raid on City. It is claimed that Chelsea are interested in landing Julian Alvarez from Pep Guardiola’s side.
The attacker has enjoyed a great season, helping Argentina win the World Cup late last year. He has also looked impressive when he has been given opportunities at City, having bagged 14 goals in 38 matches across all competitions.
Alvarez is behind goal machine Erling Haaland in the City pecking order, but he is still proving himself to be a top striker capable of causing opposition defenders a host of problems.
Chelsea eye Man City attacker
With Chelsea not able to rely on a regular goalscorer, Boehly believes capturing Alvarez could help them to get back into the top four next season.
Chelsea officials are excited by Alvarez’s great performances, despite him only being 23 years of age. They also like the fact he has experience in the Prem, which means he would not need too much time to adapt at Chelsea.
However, the report does note that Chelsea’s ambitious pursuit of Alvarez will depend on who their next manager is. If they are a fan of Alvarez, then Boehly will press ahead with a major bid for him. But if the new coach prefers other striker options, then no offer will be submitted.
It would be a major shock if Chelsea managed to snare Alvarez away from City. Guardiola likes the former River Plate ace a lot and views him as the perfect backup for Haaland. Guardiola can also benefit from Alvarez’s versatility, as he can operate as a right winger too if needed.
Another factor to consider is the fact City only signed him in January 2022. Due to this, they will not want to let him leave so soon, especially to an English rival.
