Thomas Tuchel has been told that Chelsea need to source a striker with a ruthless edge in front of goal if they are to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool next season. A 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Thursday night left the Blues frustrated after a number of great chances were spurned by Kai Havertz.
Marcos Alonso gave Thomas Tuchel's side the lead at Old Trafford only for the hosts to respond immediately through Cristiano Ronaldo's 17th goals of the season. The Portuguese showed a ruthless edge that has been sorely lacking in the Chelsea camp for some time now and it is an issue that could see them fall further behind in the chase next season.
With Liverpool possessing a wealth of fire power in Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota, and City seemingly closing in on a deal for Erling Haaland, the pressure will be on Tuchel to produce an attacking unit that can match their rivals. He remained calm after full-time on Thursday, however, insisting that he will continue to improve his current crop of attackers.
"That is the target to which we work. It's also for them to adapt, there is still a time of adaptation to the rhythm and schedule," he told his post-match press conference. "The schedule is ruthless for us and still, it's the moment that they have to adapt to the league, the physicality, the rhythm, the demands. The boys are still young: Mason (Mount) is still young, Timo (Werner) is still young, Kai is still young.
"It will come, they will learn because they are good guys and have the right attitude. It's not always easy to arrive fully composed and with the biggest ease because we demand a lot off the counter-pressing, attacking with the first line when the opponents wants to play out. So they have a bit of credit."
Romelu Lukaku was signed in the summer with a view to solving Chelsea's wastefulness in front of goal, but it is safe to say the £97 million deal has not worked out and he has found the net just five times in the Premier League.
In the Sky Sports studio, Jamie Redknapp disagreed with Tuchel that his current options will eventually do the job. The pundit instead insisted that finding a striker similar to Didier Drogba or Diego Costa is absolutely crucial if Chelsea are ever going to get back into title contention.
"They felt at the start of the season that Lukaku would be the missing part of the puzzle, the man that is going to get them 20 goals as season and close the gap to Manchester City, but it has not worked out," he said. "Werner has not worked out, Havertz has good movement and I like the way he plays but they haven’t got that goalscorer like a Drogba or a Costa who are going to score you the goals to win you titles. And that is really where they are going to come up short."
