Micah Richards has told the Daily Mail that he believes Chelsea are missing a striker to challenge for the Premier League title this season.
The Blues have added Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly to their ranks as starters this season, while also bringing in young star Carney Chukwuemeka to push the current crop even harder.
However, they are yet to replace the outgoing Romelu Lukaku, who while not being a good signing for Chelsea was at the club as one of their only striking options.
In fact, Armando Broja is the only recognised striker currently at Stamford Bridge, and even he was really close to a move across the capital to West Ham this summer.
Nevertheless, Richards believe going into this season without a more effective striking option will leave them falling short of challenging for the title this time around.
Richards says Chelsea need a striker
He said: “They have made two excellent signings. Raheem Sterling frustrates me sometimes because he should score more goals considering the positions he gets into but there is absolutely no doubt about his quality. Manchester City will definitely miss him.
“The thing with Chelsea, however, is they strike me as a better cup team than anything else.
“They can beat anyone but I’m just not sure they have the consistency to launch a title challenge and I expect them to be on the cusp of the top four. They desperately need a No 9.”
With there being less than a month of the window remaining, and the season getting underway this weekend, finding a world-class striking option at this stage is unlikely, with a potential move for Robert Lewandowski not coming to fruition.
The Blues are currently linked with a deal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with him likely to be out of favour following Barcelona’s acquisition of the Poland international.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
