Do Chelsea have English football’s best attacking depth right now? ‘Glimpses of Mané, Salah, Firmino’ | OneFootball

Following a challenging start, Enzo Maresca seems to have gotten Chelsea into the groove, with the Blues scoring at will and from different sources. This has got us thinking: do they have the best attacking depth in English football right now?

In their last four Premier League outings, Chelsea have netted 11 goals, with five different players accounting for those efforts, all of whom are stationed in the final third: Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, and João Félix.

Furthermore, only Manchester City (13) have scored more Premier League goals so far this season. The Blues are currently overperforming their xG more than any other side this term (11 goals, 8 xG), while their shot conversion rate of 18.6% is the highest on record in a single campaign (since 1997-98).

And that’s not to mention Pedro Neto, who netted in their 5-0 win over Barrow, which saw the aforementioned Nkunku bag his first Blues hat trick, sending them into the EFL Cup fourth round.

His treble followed a brace from Jackson against West Ham over the weekend, and to say competition to lead Chelsea’s frontline is fierce would be an understatement, but the former RB Leipzig man is enjoying it.

“I think for each player and each position, you need to be competitive,” Nkunku said. “You need to work hard and show what you can do. We want to help the team in every game. We just want to play and have a great game every game. I’m feeling better. Last season was a disappointing season for me, but now it’s behind me. I just want to keep going and to work hard to get to my best level.”

Neto and Félix were two summer recruits, the latter returning following a brief loan spell, with the Portuguese pair also capable of creating for their clubmates. Both have one assist in all competitions, which is not too far away from the leader Palmer (4), with two other forwards on two alongside Jackson. They would be the much-maligned Mykhaylo Mudryk and Jadon Sancho temporarily staying from Manchester United.

As you can see, the depth of attacking talent at Maresca’s disposal is extensive and keeping them all happy is why he’s being paid. “It’s a nice problem when you have two strikers who continue to score. Unfortunately, Marc Guiu is not scoring at this moment but hopefully soon he can score goals as well,” he began.

“When you can decide which one to start with, it’s nice. And because they [Jackson and Nkunku] are in a good moment we can use them both. It could be they play together. The problem is our defensive balance because we can think of playing with Nicolas, Christo, Joao [Felix], Cole [Palmer] and Noni [Madueke] – that’s fantastic – but then who is defending? Me?

“I would like to put all of them in because I really like football and I really like to keep the ball. The problem is when you lose the ball and need to defend, and not all of them can defend at the same level.”

Marseca, who nominally fields a 4-2-3-1 formation, has no reason to drop Jackson and Palmer as the Blues’ number 9 and 10 tandem. It’s a relationship that continues to flourish (whereas last season Palmer was stationed on the right flank). Since the start of the 2023/24 season, they have combined for 10 Premier League goals; at least two more than any other duo.

Behind them, you’ll find Aston Villa pair Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins, who have combined for eight goals. Immediately after, there are three clubs represented on seven: Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest), Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz (Arsenal), and Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).

As mentioned, Jackson and Palmer capped off a brilliant team performance against the Hammers recently, leading to effusive praise from former Blues forward Joe Cole. “I don’t want to get carried away, but there were glimpses that reminded me of that Liverpool side with Mané, Salah, and Firmino,” he said on TNT Sports.

Nkunku may need to bide his time, but he’s still an integral asset, especially when you consider that all four of his Premier League goals for Chelsea have been as a substitute, including his recent winner against Bournemouth. It’s the joint-most goals a player has scored in the competition’s history with 100% of them coming from the bench.

Even more remarkable is the fact that they’ve all come away from home, and it just so happens that Chelsea’s next away game in England’s top division will take place at Anfield, where one of the league’s better defenses plies its trade. It should make for an intriguing contest, at the very least, to see how the Blues’ attacking depth fares. It would be the ultimate validation if they came away with not only all three points but also put a goal or two past the Reds’ formidable backline.

Incidentally, if there is a challenge to Chelsea’s potential claim of having the most potent attacking depth in English football, it’s likely to come from Liverpool, whose abundance of riches is perhaps keeping manager Arne Slot awake at night. Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, and Luis Diaz have regularly started, with Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, and Darwin Nunez waiting on the wings, and all three could easily be part of their regular front three.

*Using Bookmaker/Affiliate links on squawka.com may earn us a commission, at no additional cost to you. 18+ only. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. For more information, visit begambleaware.org.