A year after joining Chelsea for a second time for an eyebrow-raising £97.5million, Romelu Lukaku is on his way back to Inter Milan on loan. And now that the deal is done, Chelsea can turn their attention to signing a replacement.
The Lukaku move was nothing short of a disaster. The Belgian found the net just 15 times in 44 games and did not fit well into Thomas Tuchel’s system. The 29-year-old’s nadir came in a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace, when he touched the ball just seven times in 90 minutes.
Now that the Lukaku ordeal is sorted (for this season, at least), Chelsea can focus on bringing in a forward to replace the Belgian. And given his issues adapting to Tuchel’s style, it is much likelier to be an all-around speedy wide striker or roaming attacker than an out-and-out centre-forward.
We’ve had a look at seven of the best options currently available to Chelsea.
Gabriel Jesus
Manchester City’s Brazilian attacker has not always been the first-choice central attacker under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad, with Sergio Aguero once preferred and a false nine utilised more recently. But his record when he does play is still quite remarkable.
Over his 236 games for City since joining in 2016, Jesus has averaged a goal or assist every 101.4 minutes.
Given that he’s also a very good presser and has the versatility to play in any of the positions in Tuchel’s front three, it’s little wonder the Blues are interested.
It seems Arsenal are at the head of the queue to sign Jesus as things stand though, so Chelsea could well turn to Jesus’ City team-mate…
Raheem Sterling
Like Jesus, Sterling could play left or right or even through the middle, as he has done on several occasions for England.
At 27, he’s coming into the peak years of his career and has the intelligent movement that Tuchel likes to see from his forward players.
In 2020-21, Sterling hit a sticky spell of form in September, October and November, but recovered magnificently, scoring 14 goals from December onwards.
In January, City boss Pep Guardiola said: “I have known Raheem for six seasons. I know him perfectly well. This season he was outstanding in goals and assists and his contribution to the team.
“During that period there are highs and lows. It’s part of life. Teams are not honeymoons. There are problems and we have to solve them.
“Nobody doubts how important he is. He is showing that.”
According to Sky Sports, it would take a bid of £60million to convince City –…
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