Nicolas Jackson’s infuriating red card in Sunday’s defeat at Newcastle has reignited the debate over Chelsea’s centre-forward need heading into the summer transfer window.
The Blues will now be without their first-choice No9 for their final two Premier League games against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, which will decide whether or not Enzo Maresca’s men qualify for the Champions League.
Chelsea were in the market for a new striker last summer but failed to land any of their targets and for much of the first half of this season that looked a blessing as Jackson began the campaign in prolific form.
However, having scored nine times in his first 15 league games, the Senegalese has found the net only once in the subsequent 15, either side of a significant hamstring injury.
Jackson will now not get chance to add to that tally and Chelsea are again expected to look for more firepower this summer.
Here, Standard Sport assesses five players they could target…
Victor Osimhen
Osimhen was Chelsea’s leading target last summer but the Blues could not agree a deal with Napoli, while there were also reports that the Nigerian’s wage demands did not fit within the club’s tight pay structure.
The 26-year-old instead joined Galatasaray on loan and has enjoyed another prolific campaign, scoring 33 times in 38 games for a side who are on the brink of securing the title.
He is due to return to Napoli at the end of the season and again be put up for sale.
Liam Delap
Delap was one of few bright spots for Ipswich during their doomed campaign and perhaps his finest performance came in inspiring their biggest win, over Chelsea at Portman Road in December.
Following the Tractor Boys’s relegation, the Englishman will be available at a cut-price £30million as part of a contract clause.
As a result, he will not be short of suitors, with Manchester United known to be interested. Maresca at least has the advantage of having worked with him in Manchester City’s youth set-up.
Viktor Gyokeres
Gyokeres has enjoyed an extraordinary rise since swapping Championship football and Coventry City for Sporting two summers ago.
The Swede has scored a remarkable 95 goals in 100 appearances for the Portuguese side, including 38 in 32 league games this season and a memorable hat-trick against Man City in Champions League group stage.
Set to turn 27 next month, Gyokeres is a little older than players Chelsea have targeted in recent windows, while talk of competition from Arsenal has ramped up since Andrea Berta became their new sporting director.
Benjamin Sesko
Another player linked heavily with Arsenal is RB Leipzig forward Sesko, with the Slovenian having come close to a Premier League move last summer before deciding to stay in Germany.
At 21, Sesko fits the age-profile that has become Chelsea’s transfer signature and he appears certain to leave Leipzig this summer.
While not as prolific as Gyokeres - he has 39 club goals across the past two seasons - Sesko is in the same powerful mould and clearly has untapped potential.
Ollie Watkins
Something of a wildcard option could be Aston Villa and England striker Watkins, with the Midlands club reportedly needing to make a high-profile sale this summer to meet PSR requirements.
Villa were ready to entertain offers for Watkins in January before instead selling Jhon Duran but there remains doubt over the former Brentford man’s future after he was benched for several high-profile games in recent months, including both legs of the Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
At 29, however, signing Watkins would be a major departure from Chelsea’s strategy of targeting young players and handing them lengthy deals.
