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According to reports, Chelsea has deployed scouts to assess Artem Dovbyk, a striker for Girona.
With 45 points from their first 18 games, the La Liga team has unexpectedly had an incredible start to the 2023–24 season.
They are currently second in the standings, trailing only Real Madrid on goal differential.
Girona’s outstanding start to the new season has been largely attributed to the contributions of Ukrainian forward Dovbyk, 26, who has scored 11 goals and provided five assists in 17 Premier League games.
Dovbyk and Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid are tied for third place in the La Liga scoring standings; the only players with more goals are Borja Mayoral of Getafe (12) and Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid (13).
Due to his prolific play, it is not unexpected that the Ukraine international, who only signed a five-year contract with Girona over the summer, is being linked to an early departure from the La Liga leaders.
The Sun claims that Chelsea has assigned representatives to closely monitor Dovbyk’s performances over the upcoming season after learning about his achievements in the top division of Spanish football.
At 6 feet 2 inches tall, Dovbyk is claimed to have drawn special attention from Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, who hopes to bolster the team’s height during the January transfer window.
The attacker’s contract with Girona expires at the end of the 2027–2028 campaign, although it’s known that he chats daily with his teammate Mykhaylo Mudryk of Ukraine and has a close relationship with him.
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The fact that Dovbyk and Mudryk are both handled by the same agent may make a move for the Girona attacker—who his current club is reportedly valued at €45 million (£39.1 million)—even easier.
Having recruited Deivid Washington, Nicolas Jackson, and Christopher Nkunku to their roster over the summer, Chelsea has plenty of alternatives in the final third of the field right now. Pochettino also has Armando Broja at his disposal.
A major knee injury suffered during the 2022 World Cup break has hampered Broja’s progress at Stamford Bridge; nonetheless, he signed a new contract at the beginning of the previous campaign and has made 14 professional appearances thus far this season.
But out of those 14 games, the 22-year-old has only managed one goal and one assist.
On December 30, he made just his fifth start of the season against Luton Town, and he was substituted shortly after the hour.
The source also states that Chelsea will consider bids for Broja during the January transfer window, despite his recent extension.
The Albanian international is reportedly itching for more playing time in the second half of the current season.
The Blues prioritise recruiting a new striker this month since they are also set to lose Senegal international Jackson to African Cup of Nations duty.
However, they anticipate that it will be too tough to sanction deals for Victor Osimhen of Napoli and Ivan Toney of Brentford.
