Four solutions for Chelsea at the striker position in a 3-4-3

4. The transfer market

All of the alternatives discussed up to this points have a huge risk factor involved with them. It’s hard to envision Broja, Batshuayi or Ugbo playing regularly for the reigning Champions of Europe next season. Further, making Werner work as a lone No. 9 feels like we’ve been trying to jam a round peg into a square hole for too long. Tuchel doesn’t fancy Abraham and Havertz is a wildcard, so the options are not exciting per se. That’s why the transfer market exists. The talk of the summer surrounding Chelsea has been about one thing and one thing only: a world class center forward.

The tricky part about these moves is they are incredibly difficult to pull off. There are issues that make each potential transfer seem impossible right now, which is why we’re forced to look at creative ways to solve the Blues’ scoring issues. In order to remain on top of European football, Chelsea has to bring in someone who is guaranteed to improve the side. The list of those players is few and far between at this point. It seems as if three individuals have been targeted by Granovskaia and Tuchel this summer: Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku.

Haaland is emerging as one of the world’s biggest names due to his excellent goal scoring record for Dortmund in the Bundesliga and Champions League. The 20-year-old Norwegian is being courted by every major club in Europe and for good reason. His Dortmund release clause kicks in next summer, which is sure to be a fight to the death, so Chelsea is amongst the clubs willing to break the bank for the striker right now. It’ll take about £150 million to get the German giants to the table though. No move involving the transfer of this much money is easy to make, so expect these rumors to drag on until late August.

The complications with Kane do not even need to be explained in depth. Daniel Levy simply refuses to do business with the Blues. As it relates to his world class No. 9, Spurs seem unwilling to talk to anyone about a transfer. Meanwhile, Lukaku has publicly expressed his desire to stay in Milan after Inter’s title-winning campaign. Chelsea prefers to work in the shadows, so this deal isn’t off the table, but it’s become more tricky as he’s taken a public stance.

Alternatively, there are lesser options out there in Alexander Isak and Dusan Vlahovic, but those links have been scarce. The fact remains that the Blues would be better off than they are now if they were to sign any of these individuals. Overall, this goes to show that Chelsea is not completely doomed if it doesn’t though.

What do you think the Blues should do? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!