The Striker Situation: My Thoughts.....

Is there a PERFECT option?

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gents,

Today I am going to weigh in with my thoughts and opinions on the current Striker situation.

Firstly, it is abundantly clear that we need an out & out goal scorer, and picking the right player to match the profile is not easy. ALL Striker signings come with a high risk high reward stigma and you need a little bit of luck, especially where Chelsea are concerned.

We have had so many failed Strikers over the last 20 years, with a few good ones chucked in the mix. We have only had one striker be our PL top scorer in the last 7 years, that was Tammy Abraham in 2019/20 season.

In my opinion out of all the names we have been linked with there is no “PERFECT” option, all of them have pros and cons to their game or the deal itself.

A short term solution is never my first choice, in fact it is far from my first choice, BUT would it suit us right now to go that way? MAYBE. In my opinion there is a lack of options and nobody really stands out. Does waiting until the summer give us a better vantage point? Potentially. Does it mean we could miss out on a couple of our “targets”? Probably. But I don’t think that is necessarily the end of the world.

The Options (media linked);

Viktor Gyokeres - Unproven in the top flight of English Football, was let go by Brighton for next to nothing in 2021, he then had a really good 18 months at Coventry before sealing his move to Sporting, where he has kicked on and is producing some really impressive numbers, BUT it is 6 months in a fairly average league. For me it is a little to early to be paying anything above 50m for a player like this, an excellent goal scorer but at 25 he is far from fully developed and still has a lot of things to add or improve within his game, at the top level.

Victor Osimhen - The standout favourite for most people, I profiled Osimhen back in November Here as you will tell from this he has never been my first choice, I perhaps have a bit of Striker PTSD after so many failed moves from foreign leagues. He is an excellent goal scorer, although not having a standout season, he has bagged 8 in 18 games across all comps, whilst having a hamstring injury which he missed 6 matches. He has also missed 43 games for club and country in the last 3 years, a worrying stat, especially by Chelsea’s records.

Ivan Toney - The most glaring issue for Toney asides from the rumoured ridiculous price tag, is the fact he hasn’t played first team football for well over 8 months. I have always been in favour of this move, and still am to an extent. Firstly, the price tag needs to be slashed significantly. Secondly, we need to see how he returns from his time away from the game, IF this is the target choose it needs to e in the summer rather than January in my opinion.

Karim Benzema - The best of the short term options in terms of ability, the worst financially. I wouldn’t have any fear of this deal going a bit ‘Higuain’ I am certain he would score goals and link play really well, BUT for me the financial package would have to be right and I would arguably prefer to have him for 18 months than 6, to enable us to have a longer period of time to find the RIGHT long term option.

Roberto Firmino - Far from a goal scorer, and far from the right profile. An excellent player but just not the right player from any angle for us, the only positive would be how easily attainable he is.

Lautaro Martinez - When linked with him in the summer I was happy, I still really rate him, however he clearly wants to stay at Inter and that alone should stop our interest. We need players that want to come in and fight for the badge and want to play for our club. IF Poch convinces him to join us then I would be happy but there are still question marks over his all round game and if his style would suit the Premier League.

Summary:

Right now I don’t believe there is a PERFECT option or one that really looks like they could ‘fit the glove’ long term. Or even short term for that matter, but the FACT is that we need a striker/ goal scorer this month regardless of whether they are short or long term.

There are a few players who I really think we should be considering for different reasons (list below).

The ideal striker for me is somebody experienced in the game (but not too old), is clearly a finisher, has scored goals in a top league for a weaker/less dominating side and a fairly low profile signing. I am not sure that player exists and we will have to compromise to find the right solution. With all of that in mind here are some players we could look to target (summer mainly).

My Other Targets:

Ollie Watkins

Alexander Isak (fee could be big)

Borja Mayoral

Aleksandr Mitrovic

Evan Ferguson (fee could be huge)

Read into those “options” what you will, they all have attributes that could be perfect, they all have flaws that could make them flop. None of them will be attainable in January unless something drastic changes which again is why for now I am slightly favouring a short term move, and again none of the above are PERFECT.

Thanks for reading, give me your thoughts below

Luke Rushbrook