Chelsea should splash the cash to bring Roma striker Tammy Abraham back to the club because Raheem Sterling is not deadly enough in front of goal.
That’s the opinion of former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, who believes that the Blues are in desperate need of a goal scorer this summer. Chelsea have loaned Romelu Lukaku back to Inter Milan and sold Timo Werner back to RB Leipzig, leaving them short of attacking options.
Thomas Tuchel is keen to strengthen his squad, but the current focus is on defence and a pursuit of Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana. That makes sense, with Kalidou Koulibaly not making up for the losses of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, but Jordan thinks the real need is at centre-forward.
“Both Chelsea and Manchester United need centre forwards, Abraham has scored 17 or 18 goals for Roma last year, I am not sure why he is not in the conversation for Manchester United or Chelsea,” Jordan said on talkSPORT. “Even sides that clearly have a need for a certain type of player, because I don’t think Raheem Sterling is going to be the answer for Chelsea from a focal point."
Chelsea sold Abraham to Roma last summer for £34million and the 24-year-old enjoyed a brilliant debut campaign under Jose Mourinho in Italy. He returned 17 goals and four assists in 37 Serie A games, as well as scoring nine times in 13 Europa Conference League games as Roma won the inaugural competition.
The Blues have signed Sterling in a £45m deal from Manchester City, but the England forward is not a replacement for Lukaku as a central striker. Chelsea reportedly have a £67m buy-back clause on Abraham, but it only becomes available in 2023, meaning they would have to pay a huge fee to sign their former player back.
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Nevertheless, former Rangers striker Ally McCoist believes it would be worth it. “I tell you right now, if you’re Chelsea, I admire them for saying they probably made a mistake, and it was, because we were all scratching our heads at the time,” McCoist said. “It was not as though he wasn’t scoring goals or in any good form. I think he has been a bit unlucky at Chelsea.
“He has gone to another country, done exceptionally well, I am just so chuffed for him. He is a player I would like to see around the England squad again. I think he is a top class player, and he scores goals for fun.”
Chelsea have so far signed Sterling, Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka and Gabriel Slonina in the summer transfer window. But with Lukaku and Werner their two most significant departures, the need for a new striker is clear.
