Chelsea in talks to sign £65m “powerhouse”

Since Diego Costa left Chelsea again in 2017, the Blues have struggled to discover a centre-forward worthy of main the road.

The Spanish ahead netted 59 targets and offered 21 assists in his 120 appearances for the membership, totaling 9,799 minutes performed.

Chelsea strikers which have tried to fill this void embrace Álvaro Morata, Olivier Giroud, Romelu Lukaku, Tammy Abraham and Nicolas Jackson, none of whom have managed a 20+ aim season.

Jackson feels as if he might have the potential to do exactly that however he must work on his ending, notably failing to attain from 5 photographs towards Ipswich on Sunday afternoon.

Costa was recognized for being a handful for defenders, working the channels, turning half-chances into large possibilities and, after all, scoring targets.

Chelsea are nonetheless seeking to substitute that presence upfront, and this summer time might play a giant half in doing so.

The Blues have been linked with numerous forwards in latest months, with a type of being Ipswich’s Liam Delap.

But, there is a striker with much more expertise in Chelsea’s crosshairs…

Certainly, based on reviews from TEAMtalk, Chelsea have held direct talks with the entourage of Viktor Gyokeres, confirming their curiosity within the Sporting CP striker forward of the summer time switch window.

A deal for the Sweden worldwide would possible price round £65m, which Chelsea are stated to deem as “truthful” worth.

That being stated, Chelsea aren’t the one membership within the 26-year-old ahead, as Arsenal and Newcastle are additionally stated to be eyeing the striker this summer time.

A lot of this might rely on the way forward for Alexander Isak, as he’s additionally a goal for Arsenal, while Newcastle will solely possible transfer for a ahead if the Swedish striker leaves the membership.

Gyokeres has made 45 appearances to date this season, scoring 44 targets, offering 11 assists and totaling 3,610 minutes performed.

Whereas some have doubts over how he might translate these numbers to the Premier League, one man who might assistance is Chelsea’s star man, Cole Palmer.

How Gyokeres may benefit Cole Palmer at Chelsea

It is secure to say that if Gyokeres joined Chelsea this summer time he would have the potential to be that 20-goal-a-season man they’ve been craving because the days of Costa.

Analyst Ben Mattinson described the Swede as a “powerhouse”, evaluating him to a “steam practice” as soon as he will get moving into movement. His skill to make runs and create one thing out of nothing is similar to Costa, who would usually hustle to create his personal possibilities. In consequence, he could possibly be game-changing for Palmer.

Palmer has suffered from a poor vein of type in latest weeks, going ten Premier League video games and not using a aim, solely helping three targets on this timeframe.

That stated, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder has the best xA (anticipated assists) within the Premier League this season, producing 7.9 xA to date.

As you’ll be able to see from evaluating the underlying metrics of Gyokeres and Palmer, Chelsea’s star may benefit by having a medical striker in and across the field.

In contrast to Jackson, he wants somebody who is able to end these possibilities he’s serving up week on week. Gyokeres averages 0.66 xG per 90, scoring 1.19 targets per 90 and scoring 0.18 targets/shot, which might solely assist Palmer’s numbers.

While the Englishman clearly has a great relationship with Jackson, including a striker like Gyokeres, who can carry the identical bodily traits that Costa needed to the membership, while not dropping the channel working and link-up play provided by Jackson, could possibly be the comfortable medium to discovering the Blues’ excellent striker.