The title race in the Barclay’s Premier will start to intensify in the coming month with the battle of the top four teams starting to intensify. Each team has significant weaknesses in comparison to their competitors, and Chelsea’s weakness is in it’s frontline. 29 goals have been scored between Manchester City’s strikers in all competitions. Liverpool’s “SAS” have scored 32 goals in the Premier League this season and Arsenal’s Bendtner and Giroud have scored 14 between them. In stark contrast, Chelsea’s 3 strikers have scored a combined total of 11 goals this season. Since Drogba left, Chelsea have not had a prolific striker, but it can be argued that Mourinho’s style of management can not get the best out of our strike force though.

Our strikers:

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres joined Chelsea in January 2011. Since then he has scored 43 goals in all competitions. In the 2013-2014 Premier League season, he has scored 4 goals and featured in 16 matches (11 starts). He is our second highest scorer in the Premier League this season but excels in European Competitions. He was ranked at 8th in the world for most goals scored for club and country (in international competitions) in 2013, the highest ranking of any Spanish player.

Fernando enjoys attacking the opposing defenders and playing on the counter attack, as well as playing against slower defenders. He performs better when he interchanges short, quick passes with players peeling off his sides and he prefers the ball to be played to his feet, rather than contesting an aerial duel. Torres will excel when he has larger spaces, which he can run into, causing havoc for the opposing defenders. Torres can be considered wasteful in front of goal due to some shocking misses in his early career at Chelsea. If he becomes more consistent in his performances, he will improve dramatically for Chelsea. Fernando is a confidence player: he plays well when his confidence is up. When he is low on confidence, it is shown in his sloppier and more lethargic performances

Samuel Eto’o

Samuel Eto’o joined Chelsea in August 2013. He has since scored 8 goals in his Chelsea career. Eto’o is our top goal scorer this EPL season with 6 goals in 12 appearances (8 starts), 2 more then Torres. Due to Torres’ ability to perform on the big stage in European matches, Eto’o can be considered as our second best striker.

Samuel enjoys getting behind or in between the opposing defenders, and being played through on goal. Eto’o can be considered as a poacher, as he always chases down the ball, the goalkeeper and will often find himself tapping in lose balls in the box. He performs better in tighter spaces but often drifts out to the wings to look for the ball, which in turn results to Chelsea having no direct player in the box. Samuel’s weaknesses are his strength in aerial duels and when he has to hold defenders off, with his back to goal.

Demba Ba

Demba Ba joined Chelsea in January 2013. He has since scored 9 goals for the club. This season, Ba has scored 1 goal in 8 appearances (2 starts). Demba Ba is clearly our weakest striker, as he often drifts in and out of games. Ba plays a physical game and loves an aerial battle. This is due to his lack of pace and intricate ball skills. He would benefit dearly if he had these skills, as he could easily link up with our 3 attacking midfielders. Ba will always find himself in great goal scoring positions but he isn’t very clinical at all. On countless occasions, Ba has missed chances, which her easier to score.

At this current moment, I strongly feel Chelsea would benefit if they were to sign a world-class striker. Demba Ba just doesn’t cut it, he hasn’t got the quality which Chelsea desire. Samuel Eto’o is an ageing player who only has 6 months left on his Chelsea contract and Fernando Torres is so inconsistent, unreliable that he must not be left to be the main striker at our club.

Many reports are linking Chelsea with many different world-class players, especially strikers including players like Mario Balotelli, Diego Costa and even Jackson Martinez
Mario Balotelli would, at the moment be a top signing for Chelsea. Yes, he does have his own off field issues but his quality on field would over shadow his negatives. Diego Costa has to be in the top 3 best strikers in the world currently. He is extremely clinical and just a world-class player who has currently reached his prime. He is not the youngest player though and would not be a player Chelsea would look to in coming years to improve. Jackson Martinez would be a great signing for us as he is young and would be able to improve in the Chelsea ranks. As he hasn’t played in one of the top four leagues in Europe, he may be deemed as an unproven, inexperienced player.

We also have a young player on loan by the name of Romelu Lukaku. I would personally prefer to see him return to Chelsea, sooner rather than later. He is young, top quality and very clinical. In a sense, he is a mould of the three players listed above. He would be my pick if Chelsea were to bring in a striker at the moment, even though there are rumours stating his contract doesn’t have a recall clause.

Thanks for reading guys. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! KTBFFH!

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