Michael Olise signs, Jhon Duran transfer struck - How Chelsea can upgrade attack this summer

Chelsea are looking to add some fire-power to their attack this summer and have already been making some moves before the transfer window has officially opened.

The Blues, football.london understands, have been in contact with the representatives of Jhon Duran in recent days over a possible move to Stamford Bridge. The 20-year-old striker only signed for Aston Villa around 18 months ago but has been identified by Chelsea as someone to improve their front-line for the 2024/25 season.

Duran will not come cheap, however, with Villa understood to be after £40-45million for the Colombian's services. And it is not just a central striker the club are after to bolster their options in attack.

Chelsea are looking at signing a winger this summer to improve in key moments of matches. While Noni Madueke showed glimpses of his undeniable talent, the 22-year-old was often too wasteful in the final third.

Signing Olise makes complete sense

It comes as no surprise then that the Michael Olise rumours have once again started. Chelsea thought they were close to signing the Crystal Palace winger last summer but he then decided to sign a new contract at Selhurst Park - and on a personal level, his decision was vindicated, with Olise producing his best season yet in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old recorded 16 direct goal involvements in just 19 appearances in the Premier League. Olise, though, struggled with injury problems once again, which looks to be one of the only concerns when analysing the player.

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Take that away, though, and you have a potential world-beater on your hands. You have a man full of confidence, swagger and talent. You have a man that could take Chelsea's attack to another level.

Particularly in the way Enzo Maresca likes to play. At Leicester City, in the little data we have to work with when analysing the Italian's style of play, his reliance on the wingers to get involved was vast.

In the 2023/24 season, where the Foxes clinched the Championship title to gain promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of trying, Maresca often picked Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu as his wingers. The Leicester duo were massively involved in the play and the pair actually attempted the most one-on-ones in the whole division, with 447 and 399, respectively.

Maresca loves direct footballers, especially on the flanks. To say Olise fits this mould would be perhaps understating it.

Duran deal is smart - but for right price

Compared to Olise, Duran is very much an unknown quantity to most supporters. Last season for Aston Villa, the Colombian started just 10 times under Unai Emery - and only three of them came in the Premier League.

What you can say, though, from his performance away at Manchester City alone, is that he is a right handful for defenders. He is the sort of striker that defenders will hate coming up against.

In his 70-minute cameo against the eventual champions, where he did make a rare league start, he scored a fine goal and could have had a couple more to his name. Up against Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias on the night, Duran proved to be a menace and it was not long afterwards until he did the same - but more - against Liverpool.

Coming onto the pitch at Villa Park for the final 10-or-so minutes, Duran managed to score a brace that got the hosts a point out of the penultimate game of the season. A quick-fire double, that took just three minutes, showed the talent Duran has and why Chelsea are interested in signing him this summer.

However, Aston Villa are asking for £40-45million. That, frankly, is too much for someone who has shown just glimpses. It would be a huge gamble for Chelsea to punt that sort of money for Duran, despite his talent.

The Blues will try to drive that price down - as they should. And they need to for this type of deal to make sense. The problem Chelsea have got when negotiating to sign players is that every other club knows just how much the Blues have spent in recent windows and that goes against the west Londoners when it comes to reaching an agreement.

There is no question, though, that Nicolas Jackson needs support. The 22-year-old cannot be Chelsea's only natural option for the central striker role next season. Yes, Christopher Nkunku will hopefully have more fortune when it comes to his fitness, but the Blues cannot rely on him alone given how disrupted his debut season with the club.

Armando Broja does not look to have a future at Stamford Bridge, also, so bringing someone with the potential of Duran, someone who is not going to halt Jackson's development, makes sense. But only for the right price. And from Chelsea's point of view, upwards of £40million is not the right price.