Chelsea's summer transfer business was branded as 'madness' by Sky Sports' Graeme Souness, with the Blues' failure to replace Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku exposed by their lack of goals this season.
Graham Potter's side were held to a disappointing draw by Nottingham Forest on New Year's Day, with the Blues taking an early lead through Raheeem Sterling before Serge Aurier equalised for the hosts. Sterling was signed in the summer to bolster the attack, but has only scored four goals in the Premier League since joining.
Despite this, he is Chelsea's top scorer in all competitions, with his six goals leading the way ahead of Kai Havertz, who has five goals. Fellow summer signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored just three goals in all competitions this season and Sky Sports' Souness slammed Todd Boehly's summer spending after the match at the City Ground.
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Former Liverpool and Rangers manager Souness questioned the squad's character, saying: "When you're in a war out there you've got to be a different animal, and they're not capable of it. The top goalscorers [Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling] got four goals. Are they a better team without Timo Werner or [Romelu] Lukaku? They're not scoring any goals.
"If you've lost your two strikers and you go out and spend £170million on defenders, what's the thinking? Surely a priority when you let Timo Werner and Lukaku go is to get a striker. I think Potter needs time. This is not a squad that is equipped to go and win big games of football. Their goal difference is plus two."
Both Werner and Lukaku struggled for goals at Stamford Bridge, with their main replacement Sterling expected to bring the goalscoring form which saw him score at least 10 goals in his last five Premier League seasons at Manchester City. However, it has not worked out as planned and Potter's side are currently ninth in the league.
Benoit Badiashile and World Cup winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez are expected to join the club this month, however, they could be joined by a new striker as Boehly continues his spending spree since taking over. David Datro Fofana has already signed from Molde, but may not be relied upon as the main goalscorer, despite his 15 goals in 24 games in the Norwegian top flight before joining.
There appears to be a sparsity of options, with Victor Osimhen one name who could be targeted, however, his success with Napoli flying high in Serie A could mean a transfer will wait as he hopes to win a first league title in Naples. He is currently Serie A's top scorer with nine goals ahead of Marko Arnautovic and another potential option Lautaro Martinez.
Two Premier League targets who could be eyed as less obvious options could be either Aleksandr Mitrovic or Ivan Toney, with both enjoying success with their respective West London clubs this season. They have a combined 22 goals for Fulham and Brentford this season, two more than the Blues have managed all season.
Toney's FA charge for betting offences could mean that they pursue other options in the short term and Fulham's Serbian striker could be an option.
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