Chelsea has a striker issue (again) if the ban stays in place this summer

There seems to be a sense that the transfer ban can be a good thing for Chelsea. It can be but it is hard to get away from the issues it creates at striker.

Chelsea expected FIFA to allow transfers during the summer window as they decided whether the transfer ban should remain or not. FIFA rejected that request. Chelsea’s course of action is to take it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the Blues will need to rely on FIFA and the CAS completing their business much faster than they did for Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Real Madrid in similar situations. As of now, history would point to Chelsea missing out on the summer transfer window.

Many Chelsea fans seem to be okay with the decision and fallout. It forces Chelsea’s hand in using the academy and the loan army to fill gaps. But many do not seem to consider that players currently at Chelsea on loan will not return.

Maurizio Sarri wanted a striker and the Blues got Gonzalo Higuain on loan for him. But that loan is only six months, meaning that if the ban stays in place for the summer, he will have to depart. With Olivier Giroud likely to depart as well, the Blues will be left with Michy Batshuayi and Tammy Abraham as strikers next season. That is not an entirely comfortable situation.

Michy Batshuayi is currently on loan at Crystal Palace after a disastrous loan spell at Valencia. While he is showing flashes of his promise, it is really too early to tell how he will adapt to playing Premier League football every single week. It is also worth noting that no Chelsea manager seems willing to give him a shot and Batshuayi himself seems to have accepted his chance at Chelsea is gone.

Tammy Abraham tore it up in the Championship, then crashed at a woeful Swansea City, and he is now currently tearing it up in the Championship again. He seems a good striker but it is a leap to say his Championship form will translate to the Premier League even if he will get better service at the Blues than Swansea could ever give.

Both Batshuayi and Abraham have the potential to be good strikers. But there are a ton of unknowns about both and for a position like striker, unknowns can be the difference between winning silverware and struggling to qualify for Europe.

Of course, a lot of this could have been avoided had Chelsea bought a striker in January instead of getting a stop gap for Sarri, but that is another issue.

If Sarri is Chelsea manager next season and his only options are Abraham or Batshuayi, the Blues could revert to a false nine system like he used earlier in the season. Who that will be remains a mystery as it is still very unclear as to what Eden Hazard will do. There is also the slim chance that an academy player is able to step up and come good but that would go against Sarri’s own tendencies.

The ban can force Chelsea’s hand and see many players get opportunities they otherwise would not have. But it is hard to ignore the lack of depth there would potentially be at striker. Poor planning got Chelsea to this point and the Blues may end up hoping that Batshuayi or Abraham can reach their potential quickly.