Fabrizio Romano explains why Chelsea didn’t sign big name strike after Nicolas Jackson
Journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed why Chelsea opted not to sign a marquee striker this summer, leaving the young Nicolas Jackson as their only healthy frontman.
In a recent YouTube video, Romano said that Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez was never seriously considered by Chelsea in the transfer window despite rumors(h/t football.london).
“Lautaro Martínez was never a topic discussed in the summer with Chelsea, after paying big money for Romelu Lukaku in the past, they were not willing to do a similar kind of deal.”
Chelsea spent a club record £97.5m to sign Romelo Lukaku from Inter in 2021. But the Belgian vastly underdelivered in his second spell at Stamford Bridge before being loaned to AS Roma this summer.
That disastrous transfer experience made Chelsea reluctant to splash huge fees on premium strikers this window. Instead, new owner Todd Boehly focused investment on rebuilding the team with young, relatively unknown talents.
This left unproven youngster, Jackson, bought for £32 million from Villarreal, as the only real forward option once injuries hit. Christopher Nkunku has been thought of as an option in attack but he is currently out injured.
However, this 22-year-old Senegal international has failed to deliver on his high price tag. In his 5 Premier League matches so far, Jackson has hit the net only once while missing 6 big goal-scoring chances along the way.
The problem does not lie with Jackson alone. The entire team has lacked chemistry and cohesion all season. They have scored just 2 in four league games if we exclude the 3-0 victory over relegation-batting Luton Town. Chelsea Boss Mauricio Pochettino should focus on fixing his team’s goal-scoring owes as soon as possible.
While risky, Chelsea clearly aim to be more shrewd with transfers after previous wastefulness under Roman Abramovich. Jackson’s emergence would save vast sums rather than panicking and overspending on another expensive striker misfit.
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With Boehly still stabilizing Chelsea after its ownership turbulence, he opted for prudent squad building over blockbuster names. Time will tell if that patient approach pays off, or leaves the Blues overly reliant on raw talents like Jackson.
In all honesty, it does seem odd that the Blues were ready to invest heavily in unproven players like Mykhaylo Mudryk but didn’t splash the same cash for a renowned striker…