Chelsea: Don’t sign a striker just to say you signed a striker

Let’s go on a trip down Chelsea transfer memory lane. Remember Demba Ba, Samuel Eto’o, Papy Djilobodji, Michy Batshuayi, Radamel Falcao, Alexandre Pato, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Alvaro Morata, Davide Zappacosta, Danny Drinkwater, Ross Barkley, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Emerson, and Gonzalo Higuain? Some of them have worked out to varying degrees, but the common trend among all of them is that they were signed as back up options.

They were plan Bs, Cs, and Ds that the club brought in for more or less the sole purpose of saying they brought someone in. Sure, Chelsea had little wiggle room for some of them such as Arrizabalaga, but the majority of those names came in only after Chelsea failed to get the target they truly wanted.

Chelsea has had a bad habit of buying to fill space when their top target becomes unavailable. It’s not a good policy for the strength of the club. Does Chelsea need more goals next season? Undeniably. Do they need to get another series of strikers that are “good enough” just to say they signed so one? Absolutely not.

Romelu Lukaku has announced he’s staying at Inter Milan. It’s early in the summer yet and that could change, but for now discount him coming back to Stamford Bridge. Erling Haaland would cost a small island nation and a deal with the devil to bring in. Kylian Mbappe is mission nearly impossible and, like Haaland, his wages would surely be catastrophic to the team. All that leaves is avant garde options that could, emphasis on could, be good enough for Chelsea.

But Chelsea has a terrible track record of settling on the options that could be what they need. They almost never are. Unlike Manchester City or Liverpool, the Blues don’t have the patience to wait for a player they truly want or that will clearly improve them.

But, someone is surely asking, what will Chelsea do about goals? After all, it is hardly sustainable to go into a new Premier League season where the top scorer the previous campaign was a midfielder scoring everything from the spot. Well the simple answer remains the same: don’t settle for a subpar signing just to fill space.

Timo Werner had a rough introductory year in England, yet still put up good numbers. Kai Havertz did the same. Given how Thomas Tuchel largely sees his front three as three fluid, interchangeable parts, it is less about buying a striker and more about someone, anyone, putting it in the back of the net. The odds are, in a second season, both Werner and Havertz do better at that.

There is another solution that doesn’t involve a new striker. Teams can solve for goals in one of two ways as it is more or less a chicken or the egg situation. They can buy someone that scores more with the chances the team is already creating. That seems unlikely at the moment. Therefore, option two: sign someone that creates more chances for the players you already have to score on.

Again, Tuchel’s front three are interchangeable. So, Chelsea doesn’t need to go out and buy a striker to solve their issue. They could just as easily buy a “winger” (because Chelsea hasn’t really used wingers since Frank Lampard arrived) to create more for Werner, Havertz, or whoever. Jadon Sancho is on the move this summer and as far as available and sure thing options go, he’s up on top suddenly.

Of course, there is also the other option: just use what you’ve already got. Olivier Giroud will be leaving and it is assumed, but not certain, that Tammy Abraham will too. But, perhaps Tuchel could figure out a way to incorporate Abraham into his plans with a preseason. Or, crazier ideas, make a spot for Callum Hudson-Odoi more centrally. There are also loan army players returning such as Armando Broja. Though he might not be fully ready yet, he might be good enough that it is worth keeping the pipeline open for him.

Pretty much any option besides buying a striker long known as a flop who has suddenly had a good season or two is a better option. Chelsea shouldn’t be settling on midtable strikers that have been okay for a few years yet have, for some reason, never gotten their big move. They shouldn’t be snapping up the once wonderkids that might finally kick on at Chelsea.

The only thing the Blues should be doing right now is buying sure things for forward positions. No projects or potential. And, if the Blues can’t sign those sure thing players, don’t buy a warm body just to say they did.