For me at the moment Hazard is our No.9 yet we all know he picks up knocks in that position and Giroud does not seem to have the legs to play for 90mins.

Wilson might fare well as a back up to Hazard or it could even be Tammy as back up though that might harm his development.

I thought Ings could have fared well for us though forgot he is on loan at the Saints from Liverpool, 'nuff said.

Anything is possible but unless the right player is available I don't see anyone decent coming in......but perhaps we can spend some time shooting from outside the 18 yard box to score goals and midfielders arriving into space like Frank and others would do, instead of pissing around it and trying to tiptoe into the 6 yard box.

No. But, who ever does our transfers will continue with the tried and trusted ' we know we need a top signing, but we'll just buy anyone in the meantime' so i'm expecting us to end up with Higuain at 31 years old, past it who will struggle with the premier. tempo.

Think a lot of it is how serious this transfer ban business becomes. If Chelsea are going to be banned from the window for a year or 2 then I think we go after a few players this window to try and bolster what we can while we can. With that said, it doesn't make me think that we sign the quality of players we actually need. I don't think the January window is the best for purchasing a game/team changing player as most clubs aren't going to be willing to really let anyone leave. 

But I do think we bring in a striker this January and I don't know who we can actually purchase that will vastly improve our attacking front. 

3 hours ago, CFCCAN said:

Anything is possible but unless the right player is available I don't see anyone decent coming in......but perhaps we can spend some time shooting from outside the 18 yard box to score goals and midfielders arriving into space like Frank and others would do, instead of pissing around it and trying to tiptoe into the 6 yard box.

The only one I have noticed shooting outside the box in normal play is Barkley who has a decent punt in that he often makes the keeper work yet rarely any goals from this.

Hazard as a false 9 is good once in a while. He is not physical enough and he seems to be getting more kicks when engaging the defenders up front so doing this till the end of the season will only hurt him, us and our chances of keeping him. Will we sign a striker ? I sure hope so. Sounds like even Dzeko is available. And if West Ham go for Dzeko then Arnautovic becomes available. I like that idea given he is approaching 30 so younger than Giroud and just as physical but i dunno the extent of his injury. So it is not just Callum and Mertens.

 

10 hours ago, ozboy said:

Icardi is the right age and has enough goals. 

He's the one I want the most, but it will take a lot to get him here. Top 4 is a must for a start, and I don't think it's possible in January, it will need to be a summer transfer.

Edited December 21, 20187 yr by Scott Harris

45 minutes ago, enigma said:

 

Would not mind Vardy if the price is right. Would gladly give them Morata/Batshuayi on loan for the rest of the season too.

4 hours ago, enigma said:

 

Really not sure about this one, i can't explain why, could be good or not.  

31 minutes ago, Kev56 said:

Really not sure about this one, i can't explain why, could be good or not.  

His movement and pace could be a great asset. Then again, if we are also looking at Mertens and possibly Higuain too (both of whom have played under Sarri in this system) then not sure Vardy would be a better choice. He is a proven PL goalscorer though, and is capable of doing it against the big teams too. Depends on the price though. 

Vardy seems best in a counter attacking role where his speed is a great asset on the break.

He will be 32 in January and I'm not sure either, think we need a striker that links up better with the team.

2 hours ago, Strider6003 said:

Vardy seems best in a counter attacking role where his speed is a great asset on the break.

He will be 32 in January and I'm not sure either, think we need a striker that links up better with the team.

He should have moved when Kante did. He’s too old for a top team now realistically. Unless it’s just a one year contract as a backup.

Thinking about it, anyone would be better than what we've got. 

Not really, we are Chelsea.

13 hours ago, enigma said:

His movement and pace could be a great asset. Then again, if we are also looking at Mertens and possibly Higuain too (both of whom have played under Sarri in this system) then not sure Vardy would be a better choice. He is a proven PL goalscorer though, and is capable of doing it against the big teams too. Depends on the price though. 

He's been slowing down since turning 30 - he's definitely not as quick as he was in his title-winning prime. 

At best he would be someone you could use off the bench to run tired defenders down, maybe after subbing off Hazard/Willian. 

Don't think Vardy would want to be on the bench and if that did happen think it might lead to unrest in the dressing room.

We really need a decent striker if we're going to get top 4.

Liverpool and City are obviously going to be 1st and 2nd, then Spurs have Kane firing them to wins, Arsenal have Aubameyang winning them games. I think our lack of a good striker will come back to haunt us and we'll end up missing out again, unfortunately.

On 22/12/2018 at 12:52, DaRick said:

He's been slowing down since turning 30 - he's definitely not as quick as he was in his title-winning prime. 

At best he would be someone you could use off the bench to run tired defenders down, maybe after subbing off Hazard/Willian. 

He was too quick for our defence yesterday!

Rumours today we might be interested in Arnautovic. Now he is a player I admire and he would cause opposition a lot more problems than Morata and Giroud. BUT he'll be 30 next year and I expect West Ham will want a ridiculous transfer fee unless we can offer some of our deadwood in part exchange.

I’d love Callum Wilson. Agile, fast, great at finishing. I know he’s not Icardi, but I think he’d be so much better than Giroud and Morata!

Mauro Icardi is the man we want.

Doesn't get involved in a lot the build up at Inter, possibly because of the personnel they have. He's absolutely lethal in front of goal, easily top 3 finishers in the world. Inter are having issues renewing his contract and he may leave at the end of the season but we'd have to cough up £100m.

Him and Fekir are exactly what we're missing in attack, a left footer who can cut in and a clinical finisher. Unfortunately, my concern is they'll be bought to replace Hazard not to play with him. I've heard our revenue has gone up massively for this season according to Jake Cohen which hopefully means we'll spend but that remains to be seen.

Would take Higuain but his decline is there to see. Still a good finisher of the ball, mind you.

 

16 minutes ago, JMaher94 said:

Mauro Icardi is the man we want.

Do we or is that your hope?

 

For me is simple. We make a statement and splash big on quality, and not just 1 striker, or we will miss out on top 4 with this lot and eden goes with no cl next season.

Edited December 24, 20187 yr by axman2526

10 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

I’d love Callum Wilson. Agile, fast, great at finishing. I know he’s not Icardi, but I think he’d be so much better than Giroud and Morata!

We've already got a striker who falls over a lot and loses the ball a lot.

2 hours ago, yorkleyblue said:

We've already got a striker who falls over a lot and loses the ball a lot.

But at least Wilson seems to not be confused by a football being present during the match. It’s a small upgrade granted. 

36 minutes ago, Munkworth said:

But at least Wilson seems to not be confused by a football being present during the match. It’s a small upgrade granted. 

See I'm not so sure.  Admittedly, he doesn't appear to faint at the sight of a football, but then he does manage to fall over a lot when trying that "running" thing, all on his ownsome, with not another player within 15 yards.  A bit like (no, a  lot like) those videos of new-born giraffes that people find so appealing as light entertainment, but not so much as your main striker.

7 minutes ago, yorkleyblue said:

See I'm not so sure.  Admittedly, he doesn't appear to faint at the sight of a football, but then he does manage to fall over a lot when trying that "running" thing, all on his ownsome, with not another player within 15 yards.  A bit like (no, a  lot like) those videos of new-born giraffes that people find so appealing as light entertainment, but not so much as your main striker.

 That just sounds like a modern day striker unfortunately.