Todd Boehly, co-owner of Chelsea, has made his decision regarding whether or not he anticipates a new striker joining Stamford Bridge during the summer transfer window.
The Blues are currently in fifth place in the Premier League standings with 11 games left, which would have been considered respectable before the season began.
Nevertheless, Chelsea has struggled for victories and goals since the year began, which highlights their inability to bring in a new striker in January, even with Tuesday’s 4-0 victory over Southampton.
Club officials failed to sign alternatives during the winter transfer window, while Joao Felix was loaned to AC Milan and Mykhaylo Mudryk was serving a provisional ban due to a failed drug test.
Since then, Christopher Nkunku has not consistently performed well as a number nine in their positions, and both Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson have suffered injuries that are predicted to keep them out until after the March international break.
Will a striker be added to Chelsea’s roster this summer?
During Thursday night’s Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in London, Boehly was questioned on a variety of topics, including why Chelsea hasn’t reached an agreement for a new number nine.
Boehly retorted that it was a complicated process and emphasized that Chelsea’s management intends to stick to their long-term plan in an effort to elevate the team in the Premier League rankings.
“I think the most misunderstood thing is that we’re thinking about it as measured in years and and you’ve got to think both short term and long term,” the American stated, as reported by The Athletic.
However, we’re concentrating on combining the two and looking for the most effective way to carry that out. Determining how to do it requires a balancing act.
“Strikers are hard to find, right? You don’t go into the grocery store and say, ‘I am going to get a striker’. It is an amazing skill set and you have to have the right mentality.
“When you read about the teams that are the dynasties over the years, right, they had superstar captains that really led them and what you’re trying to find is, you know, how do I find that superstar captain.”
Is a new number nine needed for Chelsea?
There is a claim that Chelsea does not need to take any action in the summer because Jackson is acknowledged as their best first-choice striker and Guiu was brought in from Barcelona with the goal of making the young player a mainstay in the team.
Despite not having scored since December, Jackson has nine goals and five assists from his 23 Premier League appearances in 2024–25, while 19-year-old Guiu has six goals from 13 games, all of which have come in the Conference League.
Nevertheless, it is reasonable to argue that Nkunku needs a backup plan because, in his role as Jackson’s stand-in, he has demonstrated that he does not pose the same threat to the attack as the main man.
The France international, who has 14 goals across all competitions, is most effective when playing as Cole Palmer’s understudy.
Jackson could be used as a left-back and face more senior competition for his starting position if Nkunku is sold and the money raised is used to purchase a more conventional central forward.