Chelsea fans were in high spirits in the Transfer Tavern on Wednesday evening after seeing their side come from behind to beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Antonio Conte’s men made the tricky trip to the Spanish capital knowing that victory would put them in firm control of Group C, yet they fell behind five minutes before half time after David Luis was penalised for pulling Lucas Hernandez’s shirt, allowing Antoine Griezmann to step up and slot home from the penalty spot.
However, the Blues hit back in the second half, and goals from strikers Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi secured the Premier League champions a 2-1 victory in the Wanda Metropolitano, sending them two points clear of Italian side Roma in the group.
Once again, it was summer signing Morata who got on the scoresheet to help Chelsea get the three points on Wednesday, in what was the Spaniard’s seventh goal since making the switch from Real Madrid back in July.
The 24-year-old has proven his capabilities as a possible replacement for Diego Costa, who officially joined Diego Simeone’s Atletico earlier in the week, and although Batshuayi netted off the bench again for the Blues on Wednesday, there are question marks over whether Chelsea have enough firepower to retain their Premier League title.
Thus, here are FIVE strikers Conte and the Blues hierarchy should be eyeing ahead of the January transfer window…
Christian Benteke
Possibly a surprise option, but Chelsea were loosely linked with a move for Christian Benteke during the summer, and could look to him again in a bid to give them a slightly different option up front.
The Belgium international bagged 15 goals in 36 Premier League matches for Crystal Palace last term, thus playing a key part in helping them stave off relegation, and has shown during his time there and at Aston Villa what an asset he can be at top-flight level.
The 26-year-old would almost certainly play second fiddle to Morata, but the chance to leave a rapidly declining Palace for the domestic champions come January may be too big an opportunity to turn down.
Daniel Sturridge
Things aren’t quite working out for Daniel Sturridge at Liverpool at the moment, so could a return to Chelsea be on the cards for the striker?
The 28-year-old left Stamford Bridge back in 2013 to move to Anfield, which brought the curtain down on a four-year stint in West London, in which time he scored 24 goals in 101 appearances.
Clearly, the England international is a much better striker than that now, but is struggling to convince Jurgen Klopp of his all round capabilities as a forward, with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Philippe Coutinho often preferred to the 28-year-old.
But with a World Cup fast approaching, Sturridge may feel the need to move away in January, and Chelsea could look at him as the perfect man to challenge and rival Morata for the starting role.
Kevin Gameiro
30-year-old Kevin Gameiro has been linked with a move to Everton this week, but he could be the ideal man to come to Chelsea and provide support to talisman Morata.
The Atletico Madrid forward scored 16 goals in all competitions last season but has been restricted to just 27 minutes of La Liga action so far this term, and has failed to appear in either of their two Champions League clashes, including the 2-1 defeat to Conte’s Blues on Wednesday.
And with Costa officially signing for Diego Simeone’s side, the future looks bleak for Gameiro in the Spanish capital, but he still has the talent and quality to do a job for a top side.
Thus, Chelsea should consider bringing him in during the January window.
Thomas Muller
Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller was linked with a move to Liverpool near the end of the summer window, but he remained at the Allianz Arena beyond the deadline.
Nonetheless, the German World Cup winner endured a tricky season last term by netting just nine times in all competitions, and as such he hasn’t always been a regular starter this time round (albeit that could well change now following Carlo Ancelotti’s sacking).
Despite this, Muller has been a hugely prolific forward for the Bundesliga giants over many a year, netting 162 goals and laying on 134 assists in over 400 matches for the club, and although last term wasn’t his best, he did manage 17 assists to suggest that he remains very much in the thick of the action.
He has been a quality player for many years now but has yet to grace the Premier League, but with interest in Muller during the summer, could that change in January?
Paco Alcacer
Barcelona’s Paco Alcacer has been linked with Crystal Palace and Southampton in recent days, yet the 24-year-old has the talent and potential to make a difference to Conte’s Chelsea.
The Spain international, scorer of six goals in just 13 caps for his country, made the move to the Nou Camp back in 2016 following a long association with Valencia, yet he has unsurprisingly been unable to dispose the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in the Catalans starting eleven.
Nonetheless, Alcacer has still managed eight goals and five assists in 30 appearances for the Spanish giants in the last 12 months, and given only 12 of those have been starts, that’s not a bad return at all.
The 24-year-old is unlikely to dethrone Morata in the starting eleven, but there’s little doubt that he’d provide competition to the Spaniard, and would certainly give Conte another option in his attacking ranks.
