Chelsea’s attack is in active clinical decline. And, as if their scoring struggles weren’t enough, Nicolas Jackson joined the long injury list and left Enzo Maresca wondering who would lead the line. With Marc Guiu also unavailable, Chelsea are staring down a pack into a situation they ought to have been steered clear of—as things stand, without a proper striker in a season where every goal is going to be worth its weight in gold.
Jackson, who had been out of form and not scoring in recent weeks but whose pressing and pace are crucial, will not be back until April. That’s right—April. A much anticipated return to Chelsea fans can save a date; however, Maresca has some serious decisions to make in the meantime.
Chelsea’s Attacking Options: The Good, the Bad, and the Unavailable
With Jackson absent, Chelsea’s options in attack are about as exciting as a blank piece of paper. Let’s take each of these potential solutions in turn:
Nkunku as a Forward
Nkunku’s spell as a No. 9 against Brighton went about as well as a Chelsea penalty shootout: uninspiring, frustrating and something we’d like not to look at again. The Frenchman is a wondrous attacking midfielder, but asking him to lead the line is like asking a fish to climb a tree.
Cole Palmer as a False 9
Palmer has emerged as Chelsea’s most exciting player this season; is he also the answer to their striker woes? Playing him as a false 9 might be successful, but it also feels like asking your best chef to deliver good instead of prepare it. The kid has vision, panache and finishing touch, but is he actually the answer?
A surprise tactical switch?
Did Maresca go rogue and try the completely unexpected? Perhaps a shot up front for Raheem Sterling or maybe Mykhailo Mudryk? It’s a risk, but desperate times call for desperate measures. But Chelsea will have to find some creativity if they want to remain in the race for a top-four finish.
Why Didn’t Chelsea Sign a Striker in January?
It’s a question that every Chelsea fan is asking. When João Félix was loaned to Milan and the club did not sign a replacement, alarm bells should have been ringing. Chelsea’s transfer strategy felt more like “wait and hope.”
Even so, it was obvious Maresca and the club were looking for more sustainable targets rather than a quick fix in the winter window. That is admirable in theory, but it has left them without a natural striker at the most important point in the season. And, if Chelsea continue to struggle to score in the coming weeks, this decision will come in for scrutiny.
Chelsea’s Champions League hopes: hanging by a thread?
Perched on the edge in fourth, Chelsea are hanging on to their Champions League aspirations like a cat dangling from a curtain. Losing Jackson might not seem like such a disaster—he hasn’t scored in eight games, for example—but he has been a pivotal figure on the field, too. Without him, Chelsea may find it even harder to break down obdurate defenses.
With the big matches to come, the burden is on Maresca to keep Chelsea in the hunt for a top-four finish. Can they survive until Jackson comes back? Or will their dearth of a proper striker come back to haunt them?
My Take on the Striker Situation
Let’s be honest—Chelsea have only themselves to blame for this. Somehow a club that has spent more than £1 billion in recent transfer windows forgot to get adequate striker depth. It’s like purchasing a luxury car but not putting gas in it. Maresca’s dedication to long-term thinking deserves admiration, but January inaction may cost them their place in the Champions League, for the difference between Champions League-caliber signings and Thursday nights spent trading air punches in the Europa League is real. And as a fan of football, I know one thing—Chelsea do not respond to Thursdays.
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