Chelsea and Arsenal facing worldwide transfer problem when it comes to Benjamin Sesko signing
Chelsea's search for a striker - or lack of, it seems - has been the main topic of conversation on social media in recent days.
Nicolas Jackson has done well this season but his performances in recent weeks have started to suffer. The confidence that was there through the early parts of the campaign has now disappeared for Jackson; who is now without a goal in his last seven appearances. As Chelsea's performances have started to wane, so has Jackson's - with the two being inextricably intertwined.
The striker market is not what it once was - that needs to be said. While there are extremely talented strikers around; including the likes of Viktor Gyokores, Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko, they have been put on a pedestal by their clubs, who are essentially pricing them out of moving. Especially in the January transfer window, which is notoriously quiet in terms of money spent.
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Clubs are having to improvise and are trying to be clever with their recruitment; taking punts on talent from elsewhere, with less guarantees they will excel. From Chelsea's point of view, though, they are prepared to wait until the summer - where they hope the market will become less complex - before signing a striker. While this is something supporters do not want to hear, it probably is the correct business decision.
And that is what football at the top level essentially is to many in high-up positions; a business. While that is not what fans to hear, it is the sad reality.
There is an interest in Sesko, football.london understands, and all options regarding the RB Leipzig striker have been explored. Making a move this month has not been ruled out completely but sources claim it is a situation that may become much more prevalent at the end of the season. Arsenal, too, are interested in Sesko but the Gunners find themselves in a similar situation to their London rivals in regards to how they navigate this window.
Liam Delap, too, is an option who has been spoken about internally at Stamford Bridge but Ipswich Town are currently fighting for their lives to stay in the Premier League, and are unlikely to sanction an exit in this window unless they were to receive a ridiculous fee for the 21-year-old striker.
If the Blues were to wait until the summer, they would only have Jackson, someone that has started 21 of the side's 23 Premier League games this season, Marc Guiu and Christopher Nkunku. Guiu is only 19-years-old and his two appearances, both being second-half cameos, in the top-flight suggest he is not yet trusted by Enzo Maresca in the league.
Nkunku, while being used as the central striker on several occasions this season, is viewed as more of a No.10 by Maresca. Jackson, if he can avoid injury, will start 95% of matches in the Premier League between now and the end of the season if this is indeed the situation.
At the moment, though, the 22-year-old finds himself in a bit of a rut and you cannot help but sympathise with the striker given the circumstances. The term 'being played into the ground' is used quite often nowadays and while it has not happened just yet, Chelsea's striker situation means this could well be the case.
While so much can still happen between now and the February 3 deadline to make this article irrelevant, the likelihood seems that Chelsea will have to wait until the summer before finally adding some competition and support to Jackson. The clock is ticking.