Lukaku gone, Broja next? How Tuchel could reshape Chelsea's attack
Ben Jacobs
- Updated: 23 Jul 2022 05:40 CDT
- 4 min read
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is keeping his options open with regards the club's attacking transfer targets, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs writes for FootballTransfers.
The Stamford Bridge side are prioritising defence over attack, so there’s nothing active at this stage, not in an advanced sense anyway. Chelsea are quite torn on the attacking front. They’ve brought in Raheem Sterling to be a focal point and then they’ve got a range of players who can chip in with goals whose futures need to be resolved before they will move in the market.
We know from the signing of Raphinha to Barcelona, Chelsea were interested in that. So in their ideal world, it would be Sterling plus a creative player rather than necessarily Sterling plus a defined striker.
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If Armando Broja were to leave, it might change that to some extent because with Romelu Lukaku gone as well, they’re a little bit short in terms of a backup striker or maybe even a flagship name who can play in that position. There’s no doubt that if Chelsea were able to get Lewandowski, they would have entered into the market there.
Broja, though, now looks likelier to stay, with West Ham now pursuing Salernitana's Gianluca Scamacca. Instead, Timo Werner's position at the club is looking less stable, perhaps not in the next day or two, but before the end of the transfer window.
Chelsea's two options
Thomas Tuchel is torn strategically as to whether it’s better to get a wide creative player who can score goals and who can also play more centrally, or alternatively a more defined No.9 who can compliment Sterling.
Don’t forget that Tuchel’s favoured formation is that 3-4-2-1, so it doesn’t lend itself necessarily towards a front two. Maybe one or two of the strikers out there might question where they would fit with Sterling’s arrival.
The flip side of that is that Kai Havertz might be the one to ask where his role is in the system if a more advanced striker is to be signed. Tuchel has got a lot of decisions to make and this will be informed by Hakim Ziyech, who is hoping to go to Milan, by Timo Werner potentially being available if the right offer comes in.
There’s a debate still to be had on what the best fit is for the striker or creative player before Chelsea move.
We know Chelsea made a late offer for Gabriel Jesus before he went to Arsenal, so they were looking at that type of player.
Leao could be a possibility
In terms of specific targets, Chelsea have admired Rafael Leao before. Price is a big problem there. It might be a possibility to leverage Ziyech into some kind of deal, but there’s nothing advanced at this point. It’s one to loosely watch without overly exciting Chelsea fans at this stage. He’s a player Tuchel likes a lot.
The Broja situation could change Tuchel’s thinking, and similarly, if a creative player like Christian Pulisic, Ziyech or Werner goes, that may move the thinking back towards a more Raphinha style player, but Chelsea are keeping their cards close to their chest at this stage largely because defence is the priority.
