{"id":580343,"date":"2026-02-10T17:39:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T17:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/580343\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T17:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T17:39:14","slug":"extraordinary-strikers-friend-has-now-predicted-he-will-choose-barcelona-over-chelsea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/580343\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Extraordinary’ striker’s friend has now predicted he will choose Barcelona over Chelsea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is no doubt that Liam Rosenior\u2019s appointment as Chelsea manager has helped get the best out of Joao Pedro. But has he done enough to show Todd Boehly he can be the leading striker long-term?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pedro was bought for \u00a360m last summer, and while he showed glimpses of quality under Enzo Maresca, the Brazil international has vastly improved under the guidance of Rosenior<\/a> during his nine matches.<\/p>\n

Rosenior says he and Pedro have had many meetings<\/a>, to the point where Pedro will have grown sick of the walls in Rosenior\u2019s office. Clearly, it\u2019s working. His brace against Napoli earned plenty of cash.<\/p>\n

What deal are you doing? \ud83e\udd14 <\/p>\n

Julian Alvarez for \u00a387m OR<\/strong> Dusan Vlahovic on a free transfer?<\/p>\n

\"AtleticoCredit: Yagiz Gurtug\/NurPhoto\/Aitor Alcalde via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Certainly, it helped pay for Pedro\u2019s fee. Liam Delap is struggling for confidence, and Marc Guiu is likely to leave come the summer, with Emmanuel Emegha joining. But do Chelsea<\/a> need a big-name striker?<\/p>\n

Serbian fitness coach predicts Dusan Vlahovic\u2019s next club<\/p>\n

Over the years, Chelsea have always had a big, powerful no.9 with a massive pedigree. Didier Drogba, Diego Costa, Fernando Torres, Hernan Crespo, and many more. Perhaps Chelsea currently lack that.<\/p>\n

While Pedro could become that, Dusan Vlahovic<\/a> is one of Europe\u2019s best strikers and certainly in Serie A, a household name. Reports say Chelsea have held talks over a possible move to land Vlahovic<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n

\"DusanPhoto by Grzegorz Wajda\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The \u00a3200k-a-week star will see his Juventus contract expire in the summer. So, Vlahovic will be a free agent as things stand, but according to \u2018friend\u2019 Dusan Ilic, Vlahovic will choose Barcelona come June.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll go to Barcelona \u200b\u200bfor me. Before Juve, he\u2019d spoken to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, but he chose the Bianconeri. It was an offer he couldn\u2019t refuse,\u201d Serbia\u2019s fitness coach Ilic said in an interview with Italian site Tuttosport<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chelsea have wanted to sign Dusan Vlahovic for years<\/p>\n

Two years ago, Chelsea were in intense talks to sign Vlahovic<\/a> from Juventus, but nothing materialised. He has remained at Juventus ever since joining the Old Lady from Fiorentina for \u00a367m back in January 2022.<\/p>\n

Julian Alvarez, Dusan Vlahovic and Jean Philippe-Mateta could all be available in 2026. Who would you like to see Chelsea sign? <\/p>\n

Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Marc Guiu did not convince at all in the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth<\/p>\n

\"JulianPhoto by Denis Doyle\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

In the summer, Vlahovic has a decision to make. Labelled \u201cextraordinary\u201d by Alessio Tacchinardi (JuveFC<\/a>), Europe\u2019s biggest clubs will be licking their lips if Juve cannot convince the Serbia star to sign a new deal.<\/p>\n

However, if his friend in Ilic is claiming Barcelona would be his choice, then Chelsea\u2019s move for Vlahovic could hinge on whether Robert Lewandowski leaves the Nou Camp at the end of the current campaign.<\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter<\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is no doubt that Liam Rosenior\u2019s appointment as Chelsea manager has helped get the best out of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":580344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[75038,221,62,1525,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-580343","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-dusan-vlahovic","9":"tag-soccer","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-transfer-news","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116047561703674072","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}