Chelsea have shown immediate improvement in the 2024/25 Premier League season under new coach Enzo Maresca, and barring a late-season collapse, which isn’t entirely impossible, the Blues should be back in the Champions League next season.
Cole Palmer has continued to lead the way as one of the best players in the Premier League, but the main source of improvement is the better usage of the midfielders, specifically the ultra-talented – and incredibly expensive – duo of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
Estevao Willian and Andrey Santos will be two young Brazilians set to reenforce the squad further next season, but even with those guys in the lineup, Chelsea will have key attacking questions to answer.
Chelsea have a decent striker in Nicolas Jackson and Palmer as the playmaker, but they have nothing established besides them. Joao Felix and Jadon Sancho certainly won’t be part of the team next season after failed loan acquisitions, while Christopher Nkunku’s future doesn’t seem to be in Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea need a truly world-class striker
The Blues best goal-scorer this season is, once again, Palmer with 14. Jackson is second, but he doesn’t even have 10 goals from the striker position. Chelsea need a Robin to Palmer’s Batman, or, preferably, a Batman to Palmer’s Robin in the Marco Reus and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang vein.
Basically, if Chelsea want to consistently win Premier League and Champions League titles again, they need a world-class No. 9 to go with their world-class No. 10.
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen should have joined Chelsea last summer, but a variety of factors led to the deal never taking place and Osimhen moving to Galatasaray instead.
Osimhen has, predictably, been very good in the lacking Turkish Super Lig, but it’s time for him to make his big move. And a year removed from a top European league, Osimhen’s price tag in terms of his own wages and Napoli’s asking price will be significantly more palatable.
Chelsea already have a good, well-rounded striker in Jackson. They can afford to take a calculated gamble on Osimhen and go for a great No. 9 who can potentially bring 30 goals in a season.
Osimhen is a former Serie A champion, Champions League quartefinalist, and Capocannoniere winner. He was the second-best striker in the 2022/23 season to only Erling Haaland.
The Nigerian sensation is the biggest name at striker on the market and the player Chelsea need to go all-in for. There are valid injury concerns, but they haven’t reared their ugly head this season.
One down year in 2023/24 should not doom Osimhen. He is a very high-caliber player and could be the final piece of the puzzle to Chelsea threatening to be the best team in England – and even Europe – again.
Joe Soriano covers West Ham for Green Street Hammers and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.