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Football London
Football London
Sport
Aaron Reid

Chelsea can sign 'Aubameyang's heir' as £35million Romelu Lukaku transfer alternative

Chelsea defeated Manchester City last Saturday to lift their first Champions League trophy since triumphing in 2012.

Attacking midfielder Kai Havertz netted the only goal of the game after a perfectly weighted Mason Mount through ball put him in on goal.

Despite the Blues' triumph in Porto, they are still after an elite goalscoring centre-forward with Erling Haaland and Romelu Lukaku both linked to Thomas Tuchel's side.

However, with Haaland and Lukaku both likely costing upwards of £100million - and Lukaku hinting a move is unlikely - Chelsea technical director Marina Granovskaia could look at cheaper alternatives given the financial implications of the ongoing pandemic.

Here football.london details three strikers Granovskaia could target that would cost much less than £100m.

Dusan Vlahovic

This time last year not many football fans had even heard of Dusan Vlahovic, but fast forward 12 months and he has caught the eyes of a number of top European sides.

The Fiorentina frontman bagged 21 goals and three assists in Serie A last season, an impressive stat line considering he is just 21 years old.

Standing at 6ft 3in, Vlahovic is an old-fashioned centre-forward, one that would have no problems adjusting to the physical nature of the Premier League as he possesses superb hold-up play and a mean header of the ball.

With just two years left on his deal at La Viola, the Serbia international is valued at just £22.5m on transfer site Transfermarkt, a price that would be a fantastic piece of business for Chelsea.

Alexander Isak

Alexander Isak was lauded as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's heir as a Borussia Dortmund striker when the Gabon forward left for Arsenal in 2018.

However, Isak struggled to establish himself at the Westfalenstadion and was eventually offloaded to Real Sociedad in the summer of 2019.

The Swedish frontman has since established himself as one of Europe's most underrated talents, netting 17 La Liga goals in just 30 starts last season.

Isak has drawn comparisons to fellow countryman Zlatan Ibrahimovic but, in fact, they are stylistically extremely different.

The Sociedad striker, like Ibrahimovic, stands at 6ft 4in but unlike Ibrahimovic, he possesses bundles of pace, something that would mean he could be a great fit for Tuchel's high energy counter-attacking system.

Isak, 21, is still a raw talent but he possesses all the necessary tools to become a world-class centre-forward under the right tutelage and despite his goalscoring record, he would likely cost less than £35m, a steal in today's transfer market.

Ivan Toney

In recent years, Premier League sides have bought players who have impressed in the Championship, with the likes of James Madison and Ollie Watkins showing that talents plying their trade in the second tier can make the jump to the top-flight if they are good enough.

This is a tactic that Chelsea could benefit from this summer by raiding play-off winners Brentford for their star striker Ivan Toney.

Toney replicated the goalscoring form he had previously shown in League 1, bagging a whopping 33 goals across all competitions for Thomas Frank's side last season, a return that will leave former side Newcastle United ruing his departure.

The 25-year-old has showcased time and time again that he can score goals at any level and with Olivier Giroud set to depart Stamford Bridge this summer, Toney could be a great addition to Chelsea's frontline, especially considering he is valued at under £20m on Transfermarkt.

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