Their own Gyokeres: Chelsea make late move to sign "aggressive" £69m star
da pinup bet： Chelsea fans will be very encouraged by the start their side has made to the brand new Premier League season.
da realbet： Enzo Maresca’s Blues were in speculative conversations last campaign about a surprise title push, but that did unfortunately fall to the wayside. However, with two wins and a draw from their opening three contests this time around, the West London outfit is one of the early pace-setters.
New signing up top in Joao Pedro has already set the league alight donning Chelsea blue, with five goals from his first six outings.
Yet, Liam Delap doesn’t continue the good news here when it comes to exciting attacking additions, with a nasty injury now keeping him sidelined after the 2-0 victory over near neighbours Fulham.
This could well trigger Chelsea into being active yet again in the striker department, as a £69m ace comes onto their radar.
Chelsea enter late race for £69m striker
The former Manchester City attacker could well be out for a prolonged period of time, with a fear he might be out for even more than the early estimate of six to eight weeks.
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As a result, Nicolas Jackson – who was due to sign for Bayern Munich on loan – has been told to return from Germany and not undergo a medical. Yet, he is understandably hesitant to return to Stamford Bridge as a back-up option. Consequently, Maresca and Co. could now have to try and strike up an extremely late deal for a rising star.
Indeed, as per an update from Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, the unbeaten Blues have now made an approach to sign Sporting youngster Conrad Harder, with Chelsea on the hunt for a Jackson replacement, to then allow for that choppy move to finally occur.
RB Leipzig are also in the hunt for Harder; however, who has a whopping £69m release clause next to his name.
How Harder can become Maresca's own Gyokeres
If Chelsea can get a late move over the line, it might culminate in the West London outfit winning their very own Viktor Gyokeres, as another clinical Sporting attacker is gifted the grand opportunity to impress in the Premier League.
Gyokeres might well have struggled on his debut versus Manchester United, but he is now up and running in Arsenal red and white after bagging two strikes versus Leeds United, resulting in his trademark celebration coming out for all to see at the Emirates.
It felt like only a matter of time before the explosive Swede was going to grace the pitches of the English top-flight, having fired home a ridiculous 97 strikes for the Portuguese titans from just 102 clashes, after waving goodbye to Coventry City after a goal-laden stint in the EFL.
Of course, it’s ludicrous to insinuate that a far younger and rawer Harder will become this lethal overnight.
But, there is a method to the madness here, considering the 20-year-old Dane has already been heralded as the “next Gyokeres” by Scouted Football, on top of also being lauded as a “complete forward” by scout Jacek Kulig.
Harder’s league numbers (24/25)
Stat
Harder
Games played
28
Games started
6
Minutes averaged
28
Goals scored
5
Assists
5
Goal scoring frequency
159 mins
Big chances created
6
Stats by Sofascore
Amazingly, despite only starting six Liga Portugal clashes last season, the lively Scandinavian had a mightily impressive five goals to shout about, meaning he notched up a league goal for the Lisbon-based giants every 159 minutes.
But, even more impressively, despite only averaging 3.8 accurate passes per substitute cameo, Harder also tallied up five assists, with Gyokeres further known for this unselfish side to his varied game, having closed out his own time in Portugal last season with 11 assists in all competitions.
In the wake of Delap’s untimely injury, on top of Jackson’s future being up in the air, Harder might well finally be gifted the platform to be a leading man for a top side, with more goals and assists perhaps ready to come to the surface to elevate him even more to Gyokeres’ insane level.
Having once been dubbed “aggressive” by ex-Sporting boss Ruben Amorim, it remains to be seen whether the 20-year-old can be a success in such a demanding league.
It feels like a risk worth taking for Maresca and Co., though, as Harder and Gyokeres potentially go head-to-head to fire their respective sides to domestic glory.
