The season-ending injury to Armando Broja might have accelerated Chelsea's search for a new striker in the January transfer window.
Chelsea confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that the Albanian has suffered a ligament injury which is expected to keep him out of action for six to seven months.
As already reported, Todd Boehly and his new recruitment team are aiming to bring in a striker in the winter once the World Cup has concluded. Although the signature of Christopher Nkunku appears to be already secured, the RB Leipzig star won't join until the summer, meaning that a more instant option will be chased.
READ MORE: Chelsea's Joao Felix transfer stance revealed following Armando Broja injury news
Cristiano Ronaldo being passed on remains a wise choice for Boehly as it was in the summer. But looking for alternatives is challenging in a notoriously difficult month to do good business.
Other than Olivier Giroud in 2018 and Nicholas Anelka in 2008, signing strikers halfway through the season has proved a flawed strategy. Well, when we think about it, signing good strikers has generally been a problem for the Blues in the transfer market.
You can add Fernando Torres in 2011 at the top of that list for £50m from Liverpool, whilst Gonzalo Higuain and Alexandro Pato offer more recent examples.
The jump to a short-term boost has rarely provided the improvement expected, sometimes leaving Chelsea with players that prompt more questions than answers. Pato and Higuain only lasted a matter of months in west London, but their legacy has made any future striker arrivals feel more precarious.
Boehly could be going down a very different route in 2023 by targeting much younger names rather than the supposed finished article.
Borussia Dortmund's Youssoufa Moukoko has been linked with Chelsea by several sources, with The Athletic stating on Monday that a move is 'certainly not done' but other Premier League clubs are under the impression it is advanced.
The 18-year-old's future with Dortmund is highly uncertain given his current contract expires next June and no agreement on a new deal has yet to be reached. January naturally opens the door for the player to speak with other clubs and could even prompt a permanent exit.
Moukoko has rightly gained interest from top clubs for his performances in the Bundesliga, netting six so far this term, becoming the youngest scorer in Bundesliga history in 2021, also scoring the winner in the Revierderby against Schalke back in September.
The CIS Football Observatory, a site that calculates the value of players, estimates that Moukoko is valued at around £21million, not ridiculous considering his short contract in Germany.
Although he is still raw and very young, Moukoko appears a more promising route for January than an older player who may only provide a short burst of form before dramatically dropping in value.
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