Talking about Chelsea’s performance this season, we can say, their performance is better than last season. Because, under the direction of Maurizio Sarri, the atmosphere of the team dressing room seemed more conducive, free of conflict. In addition, they are still in the top four in the Premier League standings this season. Even so, the Chelsea situation does not mean that it is entirely problem free. In fact, they are now faced with a reliable spearhead crisis of “number 9” player. As a result, the sharpness of the Chelsea front line is still problematic. The aggressive game system in the style of Maurizio Sarri did not fully run smoothly, because they did not yet have a reliable attacker figure.
Responding to this problem, Sarri actually tried to use existing players. For the position of forward, Sarri tried to maximize the ability of Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata. Unfortunately, the performance of the two tall-headed players tend to be inconsistent, the number of goals scored was not as expected. Another name, Callum Hudson-Odoi actually performed quite well when played. But due to his young age, Sarri chose to be careful, so that the development of this junior Chelsea team dropout player was not disrupted.
Another option was tried by Sarri, by trying to play Eden Hazard as a “false nine”. The result, the Belgian player is quite diligent in terms of making goals and assists. In the meantime, the problem of the crisis on the Chelsea front line can be overcome. But, entering the January transfer market, Sarri rate, Chelsea need additional attackers. The goal, so that Hazard is not too distorted to continue playing as number 9 role. As a result, Chelsea then repatriated Michy Batshuayi, a Belgian striker on loan at Valencia.
After repatriating Michy Batshuayi to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are still moving to hunt down new attackers who are considered capable of being a solution on the front lines. As a result, a number of names were linked to Chelsea. Starting from experienced and “have a name” kinds of Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus, loaned to AC Milan) and Edinson Cavani (PSG), to “less well-known” players such as Mbaye Diagne, mainstay striker Kasimpasa (Turkey) from Senegal.
From here alone, we can see, as seriously as the problem on the Chelsea front line. Indeed, since the departure of Diego Costa, who returned to Atletico Madrid a year ago, Chelsea have not yet found the ideal substitute on the front lines. Indeed, Hazard proved to be a temporary solution, but if he was unable to perform, Chelsea would get a big problem. So, this is where the presence of a reliable attacker is needed. But, since this is the period of the January transfer market, the choice of existing target players is certainly limited. Because, the competition is still halfway, and most clubs will be reluctant to let go of their key players in this period. Here, Chelsea is required to be careful and not do “panic buying”. If careless, this season could end up being the next nightmare.
Will Chelsea be lucky this time?
ASL
