Report: Incoming French ace could put off Chelsea’s pursuit of a new striker

Chelsea feel signing a striker won’t be a necessity thanks to Christopher Nkunku

Chelsea are in no rush to sign a new striker because they believe Christopher Nkunku can be used as a false nine for the upcoming campaign.

According to the Guardian, (h/t Metro), the Blues will consider all of their alternatives before bringing in a new striker. This includes retaining faith in the players on their books.

This season, one of Chelsea’s biggest issues has been their inability to score goals, which has prevented them from winning games. In fact, we averaged less than a goal a game in the league over 38 games.

The Blues have largely played well in games but the inability to make their chances count have proved costly. Armando Broja’s injury did not help but sidelining Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and putting faith in Kai Havertz proved to be a faux pas.

And there have been numerous matches when players have continued to perform atrociously in front of goal, making the acquisition of a striker for the upcoming campaign a top priority.

However, the Blues believe Nkunku can be that man, negating the need to go big on another number nine. It is an approach that could prove costly should the Frenchman go the Timo Werner route.

Despite playing in fewer than 20 games due to injury, Nkunku has had a productive season, scoring 16 goals for tRB Leipzig and tying with Niclas Fullkrug for the league’s Golden Boot. The 25-year-old certainly knows where the goal is.

The Frenchman has demonstrated he is superb in front of goal, but next season he will be playing in the Premier League, which will be substantially distinct from the German league. If the injury had not curtailed his playing time, he would have undoubtedly scored 20 or more goals in the Bundesliga this season.

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However, it will be preferable to ask our new manager whether he wants the striker rather than have the hierarchy make a decision on any deal. This is because every time they have made a choice without asking the manager, it has backfired.