A lot of Chelsea fans were left disappointed by the fact that the club allowed Nicolas Jackson to leave for Bayern Munich in a €80 million-plus loan plus obligation to buy deal but did not sign a replacement for him on deadline day. Instead, the Blues seemed happy to bring back Marc Guiu, cutting short his loan spell at Sunderland.
Guiu is a talent for sure, but he is not someone who can lead the line for Chelsea if Joao Pedro ended up picking up an injury of his own or needed rest. On the other hand, there are fears that Liam Delap's injury could be worse than first thought and even if it is not, he is still expected to spend the next couple of months out. So, the club have definitely taken a risk here.
It might be worth keeping an eye out on the free agent market for possible solutions. Incidentally, a former Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund striker is without a club at the moment.
We are talking about Paco Alcacer, who has played for some of the world's best clubs over his career. Now, at 32 years of age, he finds himself without one. Should Chelsea consider a short-term move to fill an area of need?
Chelsea can still sign former Barcelona striker as a free agent
Alcacer started his career at Valencia and after scoring 43 goals over three seasons, he was signed by Barcelona. Of course, breaking into the team was pretty difficult at Camp Nou, especially back then, with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar the automatic picks every week, when fit and available.
Alcacer scored 15 times for Barcelona in two seasons despite limited opportunities. That was followed by a stint at Borussia Dortmund, which is where he played his best football and scored 26 goals in 47 appearances.
Ultimately, he returned to Spain with Villarreal and has had stints in the Middle East in recent years. At 32, he could still have a decent bit of football left in the tank though.
At the international level, Alcacer has an impressive 12 goals in 19 appearances for Spain. So, bringing him in on a short-term deal would not be the worst idea in the world.