Opinion: Why Chelsea still need to sign an established complete striker

Enzo Maresca likes his goalkeeper to be a ball player, but not only making short passes, making little dink passes up to the forward as well. He also likes his striker to be good on the ball, involved with build up, helping keep possession and linking in other players.

I have been preaching the need for Chelsea to sign a focal point up top for a long time, because I genuinely believe we haven’t had a top option doing that since Diego Costa, and we have truly suffered because of that.

Tammy Abraham deserves a shout out because for a while under Frank Lampard, he did look good and there was some belief that he could have filled that void, but that soon faded out with his form dropping, and then he was sold.

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The importance, in my opinion, to bring in a focal point up top should be the absolute priority for this team this summer, as it should have been for the last three transfer windows but has been ignored. We need a proven goalscorer but one that is a true and complete 9.

Nicolas Jackson is a great prospect and has improved vastly throughout the season. I think he can push on too even though I am still a bit cautious on him. But for me he is always going to be more of a second striker or a wide striker, that is his strengths and qualities. I think he should play off the left actually, as I’ve said many times before. I see his profile like Nicolas Anelka.

He isn’t good enough in the air, and he doesn’t quite have the physical profile that I believe we need from our number 9. And not only all of that, we need TWO striker options anyway, and Christopher Nkunku is not a 9, he is a 10. Yes, he can fill in as a false 9 when needed, but we must play our players in their best positions where they can make the most impact. It’s also only fair to them too.

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Chelsea need a strong and physical 9, one who is good in the air and can hold the ball up when Maresca’s style of play is asking the goalkeeper to make that lobbed pass forward to him. The next striker we sign needs to be an all rounder.

We can’t look at strikers who are just good at running in behind, or who are just good at holding the ball up, we need a striker who does both really, or who can do both. I’m pretty sure they exist, no!?

Don’t ask me to name some names, there are people at this club who get paid a HECK of a lot more than what I do to FIND these names.

And again, I repeat myself, but we shouldn’t be ignoring the need to bring in an established player in this very important position. I am all for signing young players, but I am equally all for signing balance and not ignoring the importance of bringing more established and ready made players.

Get the next biggest thing coming through, sure, but accompany that with one or two more established players too. Balance is SO important, in football and in life.

Give me a presence up top again. Give me a player who will bully defenders all game whether it’s in the air, with the ball at his feet, or off the ball. It’s all so important.

This is THE position we need to get right this summer, and although I rate Mar Guiu and think he is a very good player, having him alone as our only striker signing this summer would be completely naive and not wise at all.