If an aging, formerly/current world class striker is on the market, one can bet money Chelsea will be interested. It is a nonstop march towards yesteryear.
Here is the process. There is a world class striker (or at least a very good Champions League level one). Chelsea is interested, but they never go all the way to bring the player in. Fast forward about five years. Chelsea is linked to this player again on the down slope of their career.
It seemingly happens time and time again. Samuel Eto’o, Radamel Falcao, Olivier Giroud, and Gonzalo Higuain were just a few that actually completed the jump with mixed results. Edin Dzeko nearly did. And with Edinson Cavani allegedly on the market, another name can be added to the list.
Why does Chelsea do this or why does the media love to make these connections? Chelsea wanted all these strikers in their prime and seemingly never moved on. They get them on the down slope when they are still good, but shadows of what they once were.
Part of the reason is that it is good to have an older striker in the squad and many striker’s rely on skill sets that age well (at least on paper). The Blues are currently running Tammy Abraham ragged because the options just are not there. An older striker, to both mentor and take some slack off of him, seems like a great idea.
But historically that has not really been the case for the Blues. Eto’O came in at the expense of Romelu Lukaku. Falcao was an unmitigated disaster. Higuain less so, even though it still was not a great idea with all the warning signs laid bare before the loan was even completed. Giroud did a job, but the irony should not be lost that he is about to leave just as Cavani is being linked.
That last point is worth digging into more. Giroud and Cavani are not the same type of player at all, but it is interesting that Chelsea is seeing one aging striker out while being linked to another. It is not even as though Cavani is a free agent yet; Chelsea would still have to pay some sort of transfer fee or loan fee for now.
On some level, who is number two to Abraham is academic. The English striker will remain the starter with the only question being how many days he gets off because of his elder, formerly world class back up. If Cavani were to come in and be more trusted than Michy Batshuayi or Giroud, then it would be a worthwhile signing. Not to mention what Abraham could pick up from a new mentor.
But it does all seem a bit odd. This could easily be a case of Chelsea simply keeping old scouting reports and dusting them off when the price is not astronomical. The wages still would be, but that is a separate issue.
It is entirely possible by the time this article is published, Cavani is an Atletico Madrid player or Paris Saint Germain tells him tough luck. But it is only a matter of time before the next aging striker is linked. Sergio Aguero? Luis Suarez (eww)? Robert Lewandowski? Their names are not far behind.