£600m but no striker… Chelsea’s history expend questioned as Blues arrive up blunt against Fulham and have just three targets this yr

Chelsea did not just break the file expend in a time, they obliterated it, but – and there is a huge but – they didn’t land a starting off striker.

Their £600million outlay around the very last two windows is additional than more than enough to line up with the two Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe up entrance, but instead, they experienced Kai Havertz in opposition to Fulham.

Which is with £97.5m Romelu Lukaku and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang both continue to Chelsea residence, but with one on mortgage, and the other out of their Champions League squad, it is obvious where their futures lie.

As a substitute it was the tiny-recognized David Datro Fofana who manufactured the most important distinction in a – attract, with the 20-year-old striker coming closest to scoring, when several expected him to head straight out on loan.

But the likelihood of him landing the No.9 berth for the remainder of the period looks remote, prompting the issue, how didn’t Todd Boehly and Co. see this coming?

“They’ve been brought again down to earth with a bump,” England legend Stuart Pearce stated at whole-time.

“The outcome will actually damage them mainly because they’ll know how a great deal it’s opening that gap in between them and the Champions League places.

“It’s just that reducing edge at the entrance of the group, I know the gamers will be delighted with [Enzo] Fernandez’s contribution but that slicing edge was the 1 point missing.

“If you didn’t know the consequence today and appeared at the run of play you’d believe Chelsea skipped a great deal of possibilities, but they didn’t genuinely.

“Graham Potter will be disappointed that they did not slash Fulham open up, and it is two factors dropped.”

Out of Chelsea’s 16 signings underneath Boehly and Clearlake Captial’s ownership, there are 4 central midfielders, a few centre backs and three wingers.

Fofana and Aubameyang make up the forward options, though the Blues paid a staggering £11m just to have Joao Felix on loan for 6 months.

Felix, much like Havertz, is not a centre ahead, which left talkSPORT pundit Adam Catterall baffled as to why a person did not arrive.

“The obtrusive issue that they do not have is a range 9,” he reported. “Kai Havertz is not your man.

“I know that Lukaku is however a Chelsea participant, is that a discussion that you revisit when his mortgage spell finishes? Do you provide him back in, or do you offload him and look for some thing manufacturer new?

“What can you go and get and how significantly revenue do you need to have to expend? A amount 9 is a precedence now.”

Former Chelsea striker Carlton Cole experienced an opposing check out although, thinking there is plenty of there in the plans section to secure a best four end.

“You’ve bought Joao Felix and I like Fofana,” he explained. “I like the way Fofana seems – he seems busy. He looks like he can do something, but he’s a get the job done in progress.

“They do have gamers they do have strikers. They do, it’s just how they’ve been utilised and if it’s heading to be geared up for that one person.

“I imagine that Joao Felix is that guy. It is regrettable that he bought despatched off [on his debut with Fulham] but I believe they are gearing up for him to come back.”

So who is it? Fofana or Felix? Perfectly with Haaland and Mbappe seemingly off the industry, that may possibly be a dilemma that can’t be answered by revenue on your own.