Chelsea doesn’t necessarily need to sign a striker right now

Chelsea won the Champions League for the second time one month ago today. Despite some underwhelming debutants, a managerial change, a domestic struggle and a few other hurdles during the campaign, the Blues managed to win club football’s largest prize. Thomas Tuchel will now be given a preseason to address any concerns he has in his side as Chelsea looks to defend its title. Part of this process requires the addition and subtraction of some first team players.

The transfer window opened up earlier this month and although the Blues have been relatively uninvolved thus far, that isn’t expected to be the case in a few weeks. The continent’s top players, and a plethora of Chelsea targets, are still involved in the 2020 European Championships. This means the transactions of said prospects are relatively impossible for the time being; that won’t be the case for long though. Roman Abramovich has reportedly given Tuchel a massive budget to work with as he chases more trophies. One of the main positions that Blues supporters have begged their team to address is the striker spot, but that might not be necessary right now.

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Chelsea doesn’t exactly need a new striker at this moment in time.

Three names have been heavily linked with Chelsea, each would be dream signings. Those individuals are Harry Kane (Tottenham), Erling Haaland (Dortmund) and Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan). Each potential transfer poses its own unique challenges though.

The mountain to climb in the pursuit of Kane is Daniel Levy’s stubbornness. A deal for the English No. 9 is unlikely due to the rivalry between the two clubs, but there is no doubt Marina Granovskaia will try to work her magic regardless. Stubbornness presents itself as a worthy opponent again as it relates to the Haaland rumors. Dortmund has shown the world during the Jadon Sancho saga that it means business. When the so-called “world’s largest selling club” puts a price on a player, it stays true to that figure until the fee is paid or the window slams shut. Haaland’s price tag is massive, so it’s truly a question of whether or not Abramovich considers the striker worth the money. Lastly, Lukaku has publicly expressed his desire to remain in Italy, despite the departure of Antonio Conte. Any move for the Belgian forward would require a large fee, but at the end of the day, the player decides what his future holds.

If Chelsea is unable to secure the services of any of these strikers, it’s got a few more options. Alexander Isak and Dusan Vlahovic are two promising, young stars the Blues could pursue. They both enjoyed fantastic domestic seasons in La Liga and Serie A respectively, but there are questions about the longevity of their successes, unlike with the aforementioned trio.

Supporters of the reigning European Champions don’t always see eye-to-eye, they do all agree that Chelsea cannot revert back to its pre-transfer ban strategy though. The Blues purchased a handful of individuals during that period who are widely regarded as horrible deals in hindsight. For this reason, it’s not necessary for Chelsea to target a striker on the market should Kane, Haaland and Lukaku stay put.

The Blues had their fair share of attacking struggles last season. They didn’t always play the free-flowing, attacking football some have hoped for under Tuchel. Nevertheless, Chelsea got results. A top four finish, an FA Cup final appearance and a UCL trophy are nothing to dismiss. It’s easy to blame the No. 9s or a manager’s tactics when teams aren’t scoring, but perhaps it’s something more. It was recently concluded that the Blues’ problem is the fact they do not create enough chances; as opposed to the strikers’ play.

If Chelsea is unable to sign Kane, Haaland or Lukaku, it should focus its resources on identifying a proper playmaker. The Blues currently have a handful of players capable of playing striker in Werner, Kai Havertz, Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud. It must be said that until the latter two are sold, they are still a part of this teams’ plans. Out of those four individuals, Tuchel should surely be able to make something work given the fact they’re all proven goalscorers.

Having a world class No. 9 at your disposal never hurts. Elite goalscorers are a luxury in modern day football. That being said, it’s not required to succeed. One doesn’t have to look outside of England to see examples of clubs succeeding while lacking a traditional striker. Liverpool won the Champions League and Premier League with Roberto Firmino up top. Man City won the Premier League and made a UCL final last season playing a false nine for the majority of the campaign. As mentioned earlier, the Blues won the Champions League with Werner and Havertz rotating up top. A world class striker was nowhere to be found in any of these teams (at least not yet in the latter’s case), yet they achieved great success in the world’s two biggest leagues.

The Blues are still in a position to triumph if they don’t bring in a striker this summer. Havertz has seemingly found his form at Euro 2020, which is music to Tuchel’s ears. The 22-year-old is one of the most lethal finishers in England on his day and he played well whenever deployed up top last season. Many fans—myself included—would like to see the German get a run of matches leading the line because Chelsea may have itself a true talent already at Cobham.

All of this goes without saying the talk of strikers is contingent upon the outgoing moves and potential transfers. The discussion shifts to not needing a “starting caliber No. 9” if both Giroud and Abraham depart. Further, if any of Kane, Haaland or Lukaku become available, the Blues must act swiftly to sign them. If none of this happens, however, Chelsea will be fine with what it has up top so long as it creates more goal scoring opportunities.

What do you think Chelsea should do at striker in the summer window? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!