OK Chelsea fans – and any Manchester City, Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur supporters who have snuck in the back door to read Pride of London’s views – there is a lot to get through and for us to cover, so let’s get straight to it. Basically, if Romelu Lukaku leaves, the Blues will need a world-class successor striker. Regardless of talk of Kai Havertz and Armando Broja potentially forming a deadly duo next season. I suspect most of us believe Thomas Tuchel will retain his current 3-4-2-1 formation of sorts. While this is an interchangeable system, the German seems to require a solo target man.
If rumours were true, Robert Lewandowski was the prime target for the West London team. Whilst Lewandowski made his contemporary bad feelings towards his current club, Bayern Munich, crystal clear, he also appears to publicly prefer a transfer to Spain. La Liga will likely enjoy the Polish centreforward’s goals next term, as Barcelona are set to add him to their ranks. This leaves, as mentioned earlier, Havertz as a particularly good but arguably unsuitable false-nine. Or the Premier League-proven yet big six-unknown Broja as leader of the line. Neither of which examples shall be the case in August, I assume.
Everything to know about Chelsea’s pursuit of Gabriel Jesus
Admittedly, the Germany attacker and Albania goalscorer will have major roles: the former as a starter, with the latter most probably as an impact substitute. In addition, to clarify my expectation, I expect Lukaku to leave Stamford Bridge along with the English top-flight. Moving back to Italy’s Serie A with his ex-side Inter Milan seems a foregone conclusion to many.
The Belgian is reportedly pushing hard for that outcome and has been for some months, if questionable topical news is accurate. This lead me to conclude that CFC are still in the market for a premium athlete to play up front in 2022/23. Apparently Gabriel Jesus is that man; and if he isn’t, then he has reportedly been offered to Tuchel’s team.
Jesus has never earned or obtained the trust of City manager Pep Guardiola, in my opinion. If the Brazilian had the extra confidence of his boss’s faith, he could become more deadly in the EPL. I believe at Chelsea that may transpire between Tuchel and the prospective signing. Jesus fits the requirement for main man on Fulham Road with regards to ability, scoring composure – he can be greedy but that might be a blessing in disguise in an out-and-out role- and willingness to press.
An additional factor which the Chels’ faithful will love, is that their beloved side would possibly upset London rivals Arsenal by signing the Citizens asset. Even the juggernaut that is Real Madrid are now unsettled by CFC’s interest, as stated here.
The Brazil international’s rather reasonable price was recently revealed as between £38million-£43m. Meanwhile, countryman Thiago Silva has endorsed a deal by liking a post linking Chelsea to a bid for Jesus. This one is hotting up, especially with Fabrizio Romano’s claim that the player’s agent has spoken to CFC.