Chelsea have joined rivals Liverpool and Arsenal in the list of clubs interested in FC Torino striker Andrea Belotti
The striker is considered to be one of Italy’s biggest prospects and his performances for Palermo and Torino over the past few years has caught the attention of some Europe’s top clubs. Arsenal and Liverpool were reported to be interested in him in, given their lack of options upfront.
Danny Welbeck has been riddled with injuries since his shock move from Manchester United and Olivier Giroud is the only natural center forward Wenger had, up until recently. The arrival of Lucas Perez does give Wenger more options in attack and Alexis Sanchez has proved that he is more than capable of leading the line for the Gunners.
Liverpool, like Arsenal, also have an English striker who has a bad injury record in the form of Daniel Sturridge but since he’s become fit, he hasn’t featured much as Jurgen Klopp prefers to play Roberto Firmino upfront instead of the Englishman.
Having sold off Christian Benteke in the summer, the only other option for the Reds is young Divock Origi, who after a bright end to the last campaign, has had limited chances to impress this season and yesterday it was reported that Liverpool were willing to offer €22 million to lure Belotti to Anfield.
Now Calciomercato report that Chelsea have joined their English rivals in monitoring the 22-year-old. The Blues already have Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi within their ranks and youngster Dominic Solanke waiting in the wings for an opportunity.
Batshuayi is yet to receive a Premier League start from Antonio Conte despite impressing whenever called upon, whereas Diego Costa is undroppable in this kind of form. He has scored 7 goals and registered 2 assists in 9 appearances in so far this season.
Despite Belotti’s impressive form over the past few seasons, it is unlikely that Chelsea will look to act on their interest on the striker. Batshuayi is the same age as Belotti and is a more proven, has more experience, is far more refined and the Belgian has a better goalscoring record with Marseille.
The price tag for Belotti is expected to be between €35-40 million, which is definitely something Chelsea wouldn’t be willing to pay, even in this inflated market.
