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Ever since Didier Drogba left Chelsea in 2012, and then again in 2015, they have struggled to replace the legendary Ivorian striker. There have been many different number nine signings at Stamford Bridge, brought in to try and fill the void left by Drogba, although few have been successful.
The best replacement Chelsea found for their former centre-forward was Diego Costa, who was a deadly marksman during his time at Stamford Bridge. Costa scored 52 Premier League goals in just three years and won two Premier League titles in that time, although one was whilst Drogba returned to the club on a season-long loan deal in 2014/15.
Part of Chelsea’s issue has been the fact that they either brought in big-name players who were at a bit of a crossroads in their careers, such as Radamel Falcao or Gonzalo Higuain, or paid extortionate amounts for the likes of Alvaro Morata, who cost the club £60m.
In actual fact, the likes of Olivier Giroud, who was also a great player during his time at Stamford Bridge, were smart investments. They paid just £18m for Giroud from Arsenal in January 2018, and he scored 39 goals for the club.
However, arguably Chelsea’s biggest miss on the striker market came in August 2021 when they broke their then-club record transfer fee to bring back a former player.
Why Chelsea should sell Lukaku
The player in question here is Romelu Lukaku, whom Chelsea broke their club record deal to sign for £97.5m from Inter. However, the Belgian’s time at Chelsea did not work out how either party would have envisaged.
In his only season back at Stamford Bridge, he scored just eight Premier League goals and gave a controversial interview to Sky in Italy, where he said he was “not very happy with the situation” at Chelsea. The Belgian promptly left the club on loan the following season to return to Inter, before spending this season on loan at Roma.
Now, according to a recent report from RomaPress, Lukaku wants to remain in the Italian capital beyond this season, having “bonded with all his teammates and with Daniele De Rossi”, with boss De Rossi thought to be “happy to have Lukaku at his disposal again next year”.
Considering Lukaku’s toxic history at Stamford Bridge, and the fact he struggled in front of goal for the Blues, it certainly makes sense for a deal to be struck with Roma. Mattioli explained that Chelsea are willing to do “a discount or loan renewal” for Lukaku.
Whilst a loan seems like the most likely option, Lukaku’s value is estimated to be £34m according to the report. That’s a seismic loss of £63m on their initial investment with it now looking like he’s played his last game for the west Londoners.
As such, Chelsea may want to recoup some of the money they paid for him and reinvest it in a new centre forward to finally replace Drogba.
Who Chelsea could replace Lukaku with
There are two main strikers Chelsea could invest the money from a potential deal involving Lukaku in; Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres. There have been links to both players, each for a similar price tag.
According to Goal.com, Sporting want £86m for striker Gyokeres, after previously stating the £73m Chelsea initially wanted to pay the Sweden international is not enough to complete a deal.
Gyokeres would certainly be a good option for the Blues this summer. He is having a stellar season for Sporting and has scored 38 goals in 45 games, as well as registering 16 assists. His game is very refined, and he is as good a creator as a goalscorer, which would add an extra threat to Chelsea’s attack.
The other option the Blues have is Napoli striker Osimhen. According to TEAMtalk, Nigeria international Osimhen would be ready to agree on a deal with Chelsea, should they match his £112m release clause value.
Like Gyokeres, Osimhen is having an excellent season. Although he missed a large part of the season due to AFCON in the New Year, he has scored 15 goals and has four assists in 28 games. In Osimhen, Chelsea would be signing one of the best finishers in world football, who is deadly in the box, with great instinct in front of goal, exactly what they have missed this season.
Should the Blues decide to sell Lukaku and invest the money to help fund a new striker, both of the above targets would be a great option. This is ultimately thanks to their clinical goalscoring nature, which is something Chelsea have been crying out for all season. Perhaps signing one of the pair could be the catalyst for Pochettino’s men to climb the table and return to their former glory.
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