Chelsea may already be lined up with Hugo Ekichike replacements during this summer transfer period.
It is now understood that Bruce has expressed interest in the VFB Stuttgart Sensation before the windows reopen on June 16th.
They face competition with Atletico Madrid, the La Liga costume, for the striker’s signature.
Chelsea is in talks with Nick Urtemade’s team
Enzo Maresca’s side is clearly offensive as they are expected to pay Hugo Echicicke a figure of around £85 million this summer.
However, the Bundesliga is clearly not at the top offensive talent this summer. But there’s one name that’s probably underrated, among the Frankfurt Man and Benjamin Sesco.
Take a step forward, Nick Ultemaid. The 23-year-old striker created a sparkling 2024/25 campaign with 20 goals contributions (17 goals, three assists) in 33 games (in all competitions).
With that in mind, Chelsea have been discussing potential signatures, which are understood to be inherently exploratory.
“Chelsea FC submitted an inquiry to Nick Urtemade’s management team. There have been discussions.” Christian Falk notified only CatedOffside in his latest Fact file column.
“Londonians have been monitoring the strikers for a while, and Chelsea have asked about their contract until 2028 and are informed that there are no early transfer provisions.
“Atletico Madrid is also interested in being a striker.”
How does Woltemade compare to Hugo Ekitike?
What is noteworthy about the direct comparison between Hugo Ekitike and Nick Woltemade is that the former possibility is clearly more severe.
| Player | the goal | Per target | 90 (non-pennati) per XG) over the last 365 days |
| Nick Urtemaid | 17 | 119.94 | 0.44 |
| Hugo Ekitike | twenty two | 165.6 | 0.6 |
* Statistics for all competitions from 2024// 25 seasons, via fbref
The latter can claim good minutes per target rate. However, ignoring the fact that his Frankfurt counterpart was seriously under his XG is forgotten by commentators.
In a 28 Bundesliga game (1,622), Woltemade hit 12 goals from an XG of 10.2. In 33 Bundesliga games (2,563 minutes), Ekitique scored 15 goals from XG with 21.6.
For the record, if the French roughly matched his XG total (rounded up 22 goals), he will be the league goal rating every 116.5 minutes.
In the end, of course, the Germans aren’t performing his XG too much. There are lingering questions about whether Hugo Echicchique can improve his efficiency in front of the goal.
As links to Arsenal and Liverpool and others stick to Nick Urtemaid, Chelsea doesn’t always have this around the world to contemplate.
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