Now the Premier League campaign is over, we can review the season that just passed and all it entailed. Spending over £200 million was supposed to drive Chelsea forward to challenging and closing the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool. Although the gap of points dropped, that had more to do with the competition, rather than the performance of the west Londoners.
The Blues finished one point better than last season and they didn’t wrap up top four until final day again. There are a lot of reasons why the money spent didn’t result in huge improvement in the league—from player’s failing to adapt to a new league to injuries (including COVID-19) to a manager leaving midway through the season and having to learn a new manager’s philosophy—but the one that stands out is the lack of a consistent goal scorer week in week out.
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Somehow this team managed to achieve the bare minimum—which was top four—no matter how much they tried to mess that up in last three games. They did that all with their top scorer (Jorginho) only having seven goals in the league and all of his goals came from the penalty spot. In contrast to last season, Tammy Abraham had 15 goals and the Blues finished in the same exact spot, fourth. If anything, it’s very impressive that this team finished fourth considering teams in the relegation battle—like West Brom and Burnley—had top scorers with double digit goals. Their defenses let them down though, something that wasn’t the case for Chelsea.
For forwards, Abraham had six goals in 22 games, compared to Timo Werner who had the same amount in 34 games. Those stats don’t tell the whole story either. Abraham was exiled from the squad and not given a chance after Thomas Tuchel took over, whereas Werner was given a chance after chance with nothing really to show for it. I can write a 1000-word piece on Werner’s first season as a Chelsea striker and it wouldn’t be enough, so to keep it short: the Blues need a new striker.
Let’s be clear, Chelsea fans should not give up on Werner; the Euros and a full preseason will do wonders for him. One can make argument if he was the Blues’ penalty taker then his stats would look better. What has gotten Chelsea over the line was several players chipping in with goals that racked up low scoring totals, but this cannot—and should not—be the way forward because luck won’t be on the Blues’ side two seasons running.
Abraham and Olivier Giroud look like they’re on their way out, so that leaves Chelsea with Werner and Kai Havertz. The German duo can fill the void, but with 10 goals combined between the two this year in the Premier League, will they improve enough next season? It’s possible, but the Blues still need a real goal scorer.
Erling Haaland and Lautaro Martinez are reasonable if Chelsea wants longevity and upside. Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku possess experience in the Premier League and finishing that is among the elite strikers in the world. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as picking a name out of a hat. All four of those strikers listed will command large fees, likely upward of £80 million. It’s also important for the players to buy into the project, but also that the fee is reasonable enough to allow other signings to be made.
The consensus amongst fans seems to be Dortmund’s Haaland all day because of the age, finishing prowess, potential and sell on fee if he was to leave. The problem is not only does he want to play for Chelsea, but also, do the Blues want to wait? Haaland has release clause close to €75 million that activates next summer. This year? Dortmund will be demanding upward of €150 million. As for Kane, there seems to be interest from Chelsea, but is there interest on the striker’s part? He says he wants to win trophies and the Blues can offer him that. His allegiance to Tottenham—and the sour relationship between Daniel Levy and Roman Abramovich—makes this deal nearly impossible though.
All of the aforementioned strikers would be incredible signings and could drive this team to a Premier League title next season. Until then though, the Blues have a chance to win its second Champions League and deliver a message to these players. If one really wants to win trophies, Chelsea is the place to be. Here’s to hoping that dreams become a reality.
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