With Benjamin Sesko remaining at RB Leipzig, Chelsea seem to have turned their attention to Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
According to the reliable Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are currently working on a deal to sign Jhon Duran.
At 20 years of age, the Colombian has potential. However, when you look at the Blues’ entire roster, they already have someone who could do a similar job to him.
Chelsea’s current striker options
Last term, Nicolas Jackson was Chelsea’s first-choice No.9.
The Senegal international arrived from Villarreal in a £32m deal and did not do too badly in his first season in England.
In total, Jackson made 44 appearances and scored 17 goals. Fourteen of those came in the Premier League, helping the Blues to qualify for Europe.
There needs to be an alternative to him in the squad, though, hence the interest in Duran.
However, Chelsea may be better off saving their money and just giving David Datro Fofana a chance instead.
David Datro Fofana similar to Jhon Duran
Fofana is only a year older than Duran and has quite a similar record to the Colombia international.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Fofana scored four goals in 15 top-flight appearances, while the latter netted five in 23.
Fofana started more games, while Duran actually ranks pretty highly for non-penalty goals per 90 minutes. He is in the 99th percentile among centre-forwards, as per FBref.
With more game time, perhaps he could prove to be a very capable striker.
But with Chelsea having Fofana on their books after signing him for around £10m from Molde FK in the 2023 January transfer window, they already possess a young forward with potential. Perhaps, then, they should just go with him instead of spending more money on another player of a similar profile.
It does not look like Chelsea are going to do that, though, making Fofana a pretty pointless signing as things stand.
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