Chelsea went through the January transfer window linked to many strikers from around Europe. Through the players linked to Chelsea it became clear Antonio Conte wanted to add a bigger target man who could offer a different sometimes more direct option to the pace of Alvaro Morata and the similar style of Michy Batshuayi.
The Blues are really only contesting for trophies in the Champions League and the FA Cup with the Premier League looking a bit out of reach. You can certainly get good Odds and betting on Chelsea for the Champions League and you never know they beat Barca before when they won it so they could be worth a flutter.
With those competitions in mind Conte wanted the ability of a centre-forward who could push the opposing centre-halves around and give them a tough game while being able to hold the ball up well to both provide an outlet to the team and bring other players into the game. Of course such a forward would ideally be able to score important goals and provide an aerial threat in the box.
The player just described sounds an awful lot like one Diego Costa. The Spanish international was good at all those things and was a genuine goal-threat game in game out. When a team’s defence came up against Costa they knew they were in a for a proper game where there were gonna be no prisoners taken.
We all know what happened ultimately with Diego Costa – as he tried to force a move back to rejoin Atletico Madrid. Of course players must always show respect for the manager and it may be that Costa should have handled things differently but the fact is Chelsea have missed him this season.
Looking back on the transfer stories from this January, it does seem from the players linked to Chelsea plus of course the capture of Olivier Giroud from Arsenal yesterday that Chelsea were indeed looking to add the option of a bigger man who can be more a handful for opposing defenders and force them to play differently. Olivier Giroud is 31 years old but can still provide a genuine threat, as 73 goals from 180 games in his spell at Arsenal indicate plus he was also wanted by by Everton.
The deal for Giroud was ultimately part of three way deal as Arsenal were able to sell Giroud to Chelsea once they confirmed their buy of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang from Dortmund which also hinged on the German club securing a replacement for Auba which of course turned out to be Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi.
Chelsea are essentially getting just what they want. They added an experienced, goal-scoring centre-forward who knows the Premier League inside and out plus he wants a new challenge and the opportunity to showcase himself in the hopes of representing his country France at this summer’s upcoming World Cup.
Chelsea have also managed to almost certainly guarantee Michy Batshuayi a bunch of top level opportunities to play in a top side and be one of their key-players for the rest of the season if things work out as he will be replacing Aubameyang at Dortmund and he wants to go to the World Cup in Russia too.
As we know rivals Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Everton all made serious winter signings but Chelsea did good business of their own.
It is safe to say that with the addition of Olivier Giroud on an 18 month contract for a rumoured fee of about £20million, the signing of England man Ross Barkley from Everton for £15million and by securing game time for Michy Batshuayi to develop, Chelsea have had a very successful transfer window.