Chelsea told to sign rising striker who would give them “a real lift” | OneFootball

With just a few days left in the transfer window, The Athletic have been doing a fun project picking a “realistic” January signing for each club in the Premier League.

When it comes to Chelsea, their man Simon Johnson had only one position in mind – striker.

As he points out, the Blues have ruled out signing a goalkeeper, no matter how much some fans would like to see that. Then they’ve got two good central midfielders out on loan, so there’s no need to invest further there. Left wing is an area where the club want to spend more, but they do have some options there already.

Striker the biggest gap – and Delap a prime option to fill it

Liam Delap takes on a defender in the box. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

That leaves striker as the biggest gap in the team, and Johnson is clear on who he thinks should be signed to fill the gap:

“Chelsea really need to concentrate their financial resources on finding more goals up top and someone to take the pressure off Nicolas Jackson… The team would get a real lift if Ipswich Town frontman Liam Delap arrived,” Johnson wrote.

“Chelsea had a good view of the problems Delap can cause when the 21-year-old inspired a 2-0 victory against them last month. Just like Jackson, he can give Chelsea an out-ball, run in behind and down the channels, plus obviously score goals.”

He admits that signing strikers is expensive, and signing young strikers in January from a team who desperately need them to avoid relegation is going to be even more expensive.

That’s why we question his definition of realistic – the amount Chelsea would need to pay for Delap this month probably isn’t a “realistic” amount considering what they’re actually willing to spend.

Still, he’s right that such a move would be a huge lift – to supporters as well as players.