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Football London
Football London
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Tom Coley

Chelsea told the £130m Erling Haaland transfer to make for Diego Costa and Didier Drogba success

Thomas Tuchel's route to victory over Everton was an extremely typical journey to collecting three points for Chelsea. With a standout Thiago Silva display and a Jorginho penalty, the Blues earned an opening day win on a ground that they haven't come out on top at since 2017.

It is the way that Tuchel has had to be successful whilst at Chelsea. Limiting the opponents but also failing to carve out clear chances at the other end. With a trickier home task in Spurs next week, it is a good parallel to make that Tuchel's second game in charge was a 1-0 win over Tottenham, Silva was magnificent and Jorginho's spot-kick separated the teams.

Chelsea will need to be better though and attention has turned quickly to their misfiring attack. With Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz starting at Goodison there was eagerness to see the new system in which Sterling actually played centrally for the most part. The lack of creativity has already caused issues though and pundits believe more investment going forward is needed.

READ MORE: The part of the season Thomas Tuchel is looking forward to and why he's expecting more transfers

"I think they need a number nine, a striker," said Jamie Redknapp after the game. "They had a lot of success the last few years Diego Costa and before that Drogba were impeccable but they have struggled to fill that void.

"Lukaku, it didn’t work for him [Tuchel] he might want a team with a bit more fluidity that’s why Sterling might be the striker for them. Broja, is he ready yet? He’s a good young player but there’s a demand that’s bigger than the supply.

"There’s not many nines which is why Haalands and that are so hard to get."

The new Manchester City forward is one of the best out-and-out strikers in the world and is of a dying breed, especially at top clubs. The goal-scoring winger is now favoured and contributions come from all over the field, including wingback. Chelsea have had their supply problems and finishing issues too, but there is irony in finally winning at Goodison Park for the first time since Costa left the club and doing it without a go-to no.9.

Broja, who came off the bench for Havertz, was fought hard for by Tuchel this summer and has a lot to prove, though he did only score two less goals than his German teammate in a much worse off team. If the Albanian gets an increased number of chances this season then he might be a better option for the team.

That wasn't who Redknapp thinks Chelsea should go for though. He suggested a SkySports colleague, joking, "It’s very hard to find a striker out there and pay big money. There’s not many Duncan Ferguson’s out there. He’d be worth £130m if he was playing right now."

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