Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says the club could sign another new striker before next week’s transfer deadline.
The Blues have embarked on another aggressive recruitment drive this summer, with Joao Felix their latest signing after joining on Wednesday from Atletico Madrid as part of a deal worth £45million.
Chelsea are looking to offload a number of players from their squad before the window shuts next week, including Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling, but they could still make a new signing.
The club have been heavily linked with a move for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen as the side lacks a recognised goalscorer. Marc Guiu led the line on Thursday night for the 2-0 win over Servette in the Conference League and missed a golden chance to open his account for the club early in the second half.
If we have [the] chance to bring a No9 that can help us, we are going to try
And asked about some Chelsea fans thinking the club needs to sign a No9, Maresca said: “Because of Marc? I love Marc. You know why I love Marc? Because the way he works tonight, he is doing exactly the same every day, running behind everyone and this is deserving of his chances.
“At the end, he is not scoring but, as I said, if we have [the] chance to bring a No9 that can help us and make the difference, we are going to try. Otherwise, we are okay.
“We don’t need to sign players just for [the sake of] signing players. If we sign players that they are going to help us to improve, for sure we need players. Otherwise, we are happy in the way we are.”
Chelsea head to Wolves on Sunday and Felix could be involved for the first time since returning to Chelsea. The forward spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Stamford Bridge and Maresca is excited to see him in action.
“In terms of knowing the way we want to play, probably not yet,” said Maresca, when asked if Felix was ready to be thrown into action this weekend. “In terms of physicality, I think he is ready because he was already playing games there [at Atletico Madrid].
“So it is just to understand if he needs more time to understand the way we want to play, but overall I think he can play.
“You see him as a No9, for me he can do that fantastic - dropping and giving us an extra man when we need more passes, more possession and then find the right moment to attack. I think he can do that very good.
“He can play as an attacking midfielder. If as well we also need, he can play out wide. He can play in different positions.”
