Chelsea may have already signed Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku this summer, while Romelu Lukaku is due to report back to the club for pre-season training, but Mauricio Pochettino is seemingly after at least one more striker.

Which players are coming to Chelsea?

The Blues will inevitably be linked with countless players between now and the end of the transfer window, but there seems to be some traction regarding speculation surrounding Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic.

Following widespread reports last week that Chelsea had made a move for the Serbia international, it has now been suggested by Dean Jones – via GiveMeSport – that a second bid has been lodged.

Juventus are said to be taking their time over a decision, however, with talks planned with other Premier League clubs. It has now emerged that Chelsea could instead get the opportunity to land arguably an even better player in Arsenal gem Folarin Balogun.

How many goals has Folarin Balogun scored?

Balogun netted 21 goals in 37 Ligue 1 appearances last season while on loan with Reims – only three other players scored more in the division, with Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe (29) leading the way.

However, no player in the French top flight last season contributed to more goals for their club than Balogun, who scored 47% of Reims' 45 goals, as per WhoScored. Next on that list was Alexandre Lacazette for Lyon (42%) and Habib Diallo for Strasbourg (39%).

Little wonder Reims head coach Will Still described Balogun as an "unbelievable" talent earlier this year, albeit while jokingly criticising the youngster for how little French he had learned at the time.

The 22-year-old, who recently switched international allegiance from England to the United States, is now back at Arsenal but is expected to move on.

Balogun is said to only be interested in playing for a team where he is a regular starter, which may not be the case at Arsenal with Gabriel Jesus in place, while a loan exit has also been ruled out.

That could be good news for Chelsea as Football Transfers reports that Balogun's representatives have spoken to the Blues about a possible transfer between the London rivals.

Any deal could set Mauricio Pochettino's side back £50m, yet that would still be the same amount they would be paying for Vlahovic.

While Vlahovic is undoubtedly a talented player, his figures have dropped at an alarming rate since recording 0.92 goals or assists every 90 minutes with Fiorentina in the second half of the 2021-22 season, as per FBref.

That led to a £66.6m switch to Juventus, and after registering 0.67 in the second half of that season, it dropped to 0.56 in his first full campaign at the Allianz Stadium.

That 0.56 return compares to 0.69 for Balogun, in what must be said is a weaker side, while the former Reims loanee also comes out on top for shots on target percentage (41.3 v 30.8) and successful take-ons (1.05 v 0.65), among other metrics.

It may well be that Arsenal refuse to sell to a direct Premier League rival, but the deal certainly makes sense from Chelsea's perspective. Because whereas Vlahovic – who only scored ten goals in Serie A last term – appears to be on the way down, Balogun is very much on the way up.