It just about worked out for Chelsea strikers in the end

Chelsea has struggled to find a striker that A: scores and B: stays without going insane. Perhaps the closest the Blues got in the past decade was Diego Costa, but from the moment he tried to go to China in the middle of a title campaign, he was on the outs. Being the number nine, whether actually wearing it or not, is a heavy burden in blue that few are able to meet.

That is a large part of the reason why Chelsea is going into the new season with practically an entirely new striker corps. One big name is returning and several are on their way out, but everyone just about got where they needed to be in the end.

Olivier Giroud was a beacon of professionalism for the team. It didn’t matter how little he played; he always found a way to contribute. His time at Chelsea, however, was more or less clearly done after Frank Lampard’s departure. But Giroud still has plenty in the tank and a club like AC Milan is a fantastic place for him to keep going at the top of his game for a year or two.

Tammy Abraham is coming out clean too. Though Thomas Tuchel never truly took a liking to him, he is a very good striker. It looked like a Premier League sale would be inevitable and that would have been bad news for Chelsea. Luckily, Jose Mourinho is doing Chelsea a favor. Roma has all but agreed to sign Abraham. Serie A will introduce Abraham to a new league and improve him as a player. There, he can flourish and maybe, some day if Chelsea hasn’t burnt the bridge, return.

Armando Broja is also stepping out. Chelsea failed to sign a striker early and Tuchel remained unconvinced by Abraham. This gave Broja plenty of minutes in preseason to put a portfolio together. Broja’s going from a Vitesse loan to a Southampton loan as a result. It’s a big step up, but Ralph Hasenhuttl is a good coach that can teach Broja a ton.

And much of this is possible because Chelsea finally (any second now!) signed Lukaku. It’s been a long way back to Chelsea for Didier Drogba’s heir apparent, but he got where he needed to be just as he enters his prime. He solves the main issue Chelsea had last season and he’ll likely stick around for some time to come.

Lukaku does muddy the waters a bit for Timo Werner though. Werner has only been at Chelsea for a year but it seems any thought of him leading the line by himself is over. That makes sense, of course. At Leipzig he almost always played in a strike pair and his positioning made the “left wing” spot make sense for him under both Lampard and Tuchel. Even having a rough year in front of the net, he still managed to rack up assists last season. Should Lukaku and Werner play together, they’ll feed one another plenty of goals and assists.

All of this sets Chelsea up for the future rather well too. This season, Lukaku, Werner, and occasional Kai Havertz is plenty of coverage at striker. Next summer, the club has left a relatively clear path open for Broja to return and slot into. The same goes for Abraham should his move turn into a loan with an option to buy, which Serie A clubs rarely take up. Furthermore, with Lukaku the only full time striker on the roster, there is a chance for Jude Soonsup-Bell to get minutes against lower league opposition or from the bench.

It was a summer where Chelsea knew the striker position would see a lot of movement. At the end of the day, every player ended up in about the perfect place for them at this point in time. Perhaps even more importantly is the Blues are well set up for the future of the position as well.