Chelsea Football Club find themselves with a most intriguing problem to solve: A lack of goals scored.
Their tally of 42 registered in the English top-flight this term falls somewhat short of the totals racked up by the likes of Brighton, Tottenham and Aston Villa – all of whom occupy more favourable positions in the table.
One solution the Blues could pursue is €40m [£34.1m]-valued Victor Boniface of Bayer Leverkusen.
“Nicolas Jackson (22) has not yet managed to solve the striker problem at Chelsea,” Christian Falk wrote in his exclusive column with CaughtOffside.
“Someone else could do that in future: Victor Boniface (23) came from Saint-Gilloise in 2023 for €16m. The striker scored 16 goals in 23 games and added eight goals. He is currently injured (adductors).
“Contract until 2028. Current market value €40m. Chelsea is tempting, but Bayer doesn’t want to sell him.”
The Nigerian was in terrific form for Xabi Alonso’s men prior to picking up his injury on international duty.
The 24-year-old struck the net 16 times, whilst also picking up eight assists, in 23 games. By contrast, Nicolas Jackson, who has been entrusted with a greater supply of minutes, has only 12 goal contributions to his name.
Albeit, the Chelsea man is playing a part in a comparatively more dysfunctional outfit.
With Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku both positionally versatile options in the Blues’ forward line, further bolstering their options with a reliable goalscorer in Boniface may be well-advised.
More must-reads: