Sky Sports: Chelsea change striker strategy and don’t want “elite, first-choice” star | OneFootball

Chelsea’s hunt for a striker this summer is a big story at this point. We’ve heard about it from all the major sources already.

Fabrizio Romano has said we’re ready to spend “important money” and we don’t doubt it. It’s been something we’ve missed for a long time.

But according to Lyall Thomas, our plans have shifted this season as we’ve seen main option Nicolas Jackson make major strides:

“Chelsea have been pleased with the progress of Nicolas Jackson this season and now appear to be targeting a younger deputy for competition, rather than spending big on a new elite first-choice striker,” Thomas wrote.

“Their two sporting directors, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, have continued to look at younger options and are believed to be keen on the likes of Benjamin Sesko, Liam Delap and Jonathan David as we head into final leg of the season.”

That confirms what we thought ourselves from observing the team this season – rather than go for a world class number 9 as we did last summer, we’ve shifted gears and now want a player to complement and supplement Jackson rather than look to replace him.

Chelsea’s new striker strategy

Benjamin Sesko in action for RB Leipzig. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

That’s why, as Manchester United and Arsenal have appeared to close in on the likes of Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen, we seem to have pivoted to the likes of Delap and Sesko – younger and hopefully cheaper, with plenty of upside.

There will a strong and perfectly valid answer that we should still pursue a proven top goalscorer rather than continue to hunt for young talent. Really it will come down to how much you rate Nicolas Jackson more than anything.

But as we saw when we signed Romelu Lukaku, there are no guarantees, even when you sign a “proven” player.