In what came as a shock turn in the summer transfer market, Chelsea appear to be moving to secure a deal for out-of-favour Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun.
While the USMNT international has proven his goalscoring track record during his Ligue 1 loan spell with Reims last season, he’s failed to make a breakthrough under Mikel Arteta during his time at the Emirates Stadium.
That being said, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino hinted at a possible deal for a striker with less than two weeks remaining until deadline day.
“We are working, of course,” Pochettino admitted at his pre-match press conference. “We are looking at all of the options that we can manage on the market. We can see the potential. But I think at the same time, we are keeping one or two eyes on Armando Broja.
“I think it’s a big disappointment with the situation of Christoph, because he should be a really important player for us and to help Nico Jackson score goals.
“That is football and we need to accept that situation. Sometimes we cannot go for some player that maybe we already have. We need to be patient and adapt our squad and get positive results while waiting for Armando to be fully fit.”
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football.london says: It’s reassuring to hear Pochettino speak about players like Broja – who even some fans forget about when discussing where they should be looking next in the transfer market. Despite not playing in the latter half of the season last year, he’s given a good enough account of himself thanks to chances handed to him by the likes of Frank Lampard and Graham Potter to have made himself noticed.
Once Nkunku and Broja are back to full fitness, they’ll join Jackson in the main striker corps and that’s a solid trio to get your goals from. Each does something a little bit different – Broja can use his height and power, Nkunku’s ability and natural finesse can carry matches, while Jackson’s fantastic finishing capabilities that he showed during preseason will keep the side afloat until the pair return.
The latter’s build-up play and ability to link-up with key players in the midfield like Enzo Fernandez and Carney Chukwuemeka was shown against Liverpool and he will start to bury chances against teams worse than them. I don’t think Pochettino needs another frontman, but if he was to step into the market, dealing with Arsenal for Balogun wouldn’t be the worst decision.
Elsewhere, Blues striker Romelu Lukaku is still yet to find himself a new home after effectively being exiled from Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. After spending last season out on loan at Inter Milan, he declined to go back out there, essentially destroying any hope Chelsea had of shipping him out of the club in the summer.
Despite that, Simone Inzaghi has opened up on his disappointment over Lukaku’s decision, claiming that he thought he’d come back for another year after his warm reception.
“I thank Lukaku for what he gave us last season. I wanted him here and would have liked that to continue, but he made a different decision,” Inzaghi told reporters as quoted by Metro.
“It’s disappointing how it ended because he had been given a warm welcome by the Inter family. The transfer window is complicated for almost everyone. We have lost some of the best players in their roles in Italy, but brought in those with bright prospects who can help us out.
“I don’t like talking about favourites. I would like to win, the fans deserve it and our objective is to win trophies.”
football.london says: It’s no surprise to see hear what Inzaghi is saying – he’s 100 percent right. Lukaku hasn’t left Chelsea for one simple reason – greed. He wants the best deal possible for himself, which is completely understandable, but when it starts hindering your career, perhaps it’s not the smartest hill to die on.