Chelsea told they must sign ‘a traditional number nine’ with Toney, Osimhen named in critical rant
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino
Peter Crouch and Joe Cole have declared that Chelsea must sign a ‘traditional’ striker in the January window to kick on in the Premier League this season.
Chelsea have won three, drawn three and lost four of their Premier League fixtures so far this season, and a lack of goals has been their biggest issue.
The London club have scored only 13 goals so far and were unable to find the net in their extremely disappointing 2-0 defeat to Brentford earlier today.
Chelsea were booed off by their supporters after the final whistle, with pressure now beginning to mount on Mauricio Pochettino.
Chelsea brought in strikers Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku during the summer transfer window. Jackson has only scored two goals in the Premier League so far, while Nkunku is yet to make a competitive appearance due to an injury.
Cole Palmer has made a positive impact for Chelsea in recent games, but Crouch and Cole don’t think he is the answer to their goal-scoring problems.
The former Liverpool duo believe that Ivan Toney, who has been linked with Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham recently, would be a great addition for the Blues.
Cole also names Napoli goal machine Victor Osimhen as another excellent option but admits that he could be too expensive this winter.
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“I like him [Palmer], I think he’s good but I don’t think he’s the answer,” Crouch said on TNT Sport.
“I think with Chelsea, as well as they did against Arsenal, I think they need a traditional No.9 – they’ve had Drogba as the main one in recent times but now they’ve been linked with Ivan Toney.
“If they can go out and get him, then that’d be absolutely perfect for them because what they have around that is perfect.”
Cole, who made 281 appearances for Chelsea, agreed with his fellow pundit and he was also keen to tell Pochettino and the Chelsea owner just how to go and get the striker they want. “It’s difficult because there’s not many of them [natural strikers] around,” Cole admitted.
“Osimhen and Toney, the financial package you’d have to give to those players is very difficult.
“I think Crouchy is right because everywhere else around that No.9 space, you’re seeing a lot of positive signs and that’ll be the final piece of the jigsaw.
“If they find who they want, they need to stamp down, say ‘Here’s £100m’ and go get their man.”
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea take Crouch and Cole’s advice and make an offer for Toney or Osimhen in January.
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