The one position that has probably cost Chelsea from being a more dominant side in England and Europe is the striking department. Mourinho has publicly spoke about his frustration with his strikers and many critics have underlined the lack of goals from the forwards as a major stumbling block for Chelsea. With players likely to come in during the summer, could this see Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba head towards the exit and maybe even the talent of Romelu Lukaku sacrificed?
Mourinho has regularly shared his concerns about his forwards and has also revealed plans to bring in striker he believes will score goals this summer. He said: “The problem with Chelsea is we lack a scorer. I have one (Eto’o) but he’s 32.” Mourinho knows the club lacks the fire power needed to compete at the level he wants Chelsea to be at and fans can definitely expect to see at least one striker to be sold.
A British record signing at 50 million, this could be Fernando Torres’ final season at Stamford Bridge with Mourinho becoming frustrated with the Spainard’s performances of late. Much was expected when Chelsea announced the signing of Torres, but unfortunately Torres has never lived up to the price tag and has been labelled a “flop” by many pundits.
Although he has had his moments, for example his goal against Barcelona, Torres quite simply isn’t the player he was at previous clubs and this season could be his last with Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid interested, the latter of which Torres has already expressed his interest in. Former assistant coach Ray Wilkins recently claimed he expects Torres to leave, saying: Torres has no future at Chelsea. I think he has seen his time out there.”
A major surprise sale could come this summer, with Chelsea considering letting go of the potential that Romelu Lukaku possesses amid interest from fierce rivals Tottenham and a host of other clubs. The 20-year-old has impressed on loan at Premier League clubs West Brom and Everton and has demonstrated he has the ability to become a top player. Some argue that his decision making at times lets him down, but with coaching that can easily be improved and with his physical prowess he can be a nightmare for defenders.
Lukaku’s agent has already confirmed that he has spoken to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and his recent comments do suggest the Belgian could be on his way out. Lukaku’s agent Christophe Henrotay said, “I’m looking for a club for Romelu. And yes, I’ve talked to Daniel Levy once, but that doesn’t mean Romelu will definitely join Spurs. That’s not a talking point at this moment.” Whether or not this is a tactic deployed by an agent to get reassurance over his client’s future remains to be seen, but letting go of self-confessed Chelsea fan Lukaku would be criminal.
Demba Ba was a £7 million January purchase following impressive performances for Newcastle in the Premier League. However, what must be highlighted is at the time, Chelsea had one striker in the form of a fatigued and below par Fernando Torres, so signing a stop-gap striker to provide Torres competition and cover was a necessity. Demba Ba was close to leaving at the start of the season in a loan move to local rivals Arsenal, a move that was blocked by Mourinho as he knew a striker of Demba Ba’s quality was exactly what Wenger needed.
When Demba Ba was signed, many Chelsea fans knew that the Senegalese front man would not be at the club for a prolonged period. Although he has had some good performances and is not a bad option to bring off the bench, Demba Ba does not possess the quality to lead the front line on his own in Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1 for a club that is a contender for every competition they enter. Demba Ba is almost certain to leave and destinations have been rumoured to be a return to Newcastle or a move to Europe.
Finally, on just a one year contract with Chelsea and at the ripe age of 32, Samuel Eto’o may not get a contract extension despite impressing of late. Having started the season slowly, it seemed Eto’o may not possess the pace and incisiveness that once made him one of Europe’s most prolific marksmen, but it seems Mourinho does have faith in Eto’o and could decide to keep him beyond the one year deal. Although Eto’o does not fit in with the policy of buying youthful prospects Chelsea have tried to get in place, it would not be a surprise if the services of Eto’o are deemed important.
With Chelsea ever busy in the transfer window, expect much business as Mourinho looks to shuffle his squad and the main area of improvement needed is the strikers. Anyone that the ruthless former Real Madrid manager sees as dead wood can expect to be shipped out, as long as it does not aid clubs that could threaten Chelsea. It is going to be a very interesting summer at Stamford Bridge….
