Paul Merson admits he’s surprised Chelsea didn’t go and sign £27m striker in the summer

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Paul Merson has expressed his shock that Chelsea didn’t go out and sign a centre-forward who moved to a rival Premier League club in the summer.

Chelsea failed to sign a proven goalscorer in the summer despite the wishes of so many supporters. The consolation was the arrival of raw 18-year-old forward Marc Guiu from Barcelona to provide cover for first-choice striker Nicolas Jackson.

Journalist Simon Phillips recently claimed via Substack that Chelsea are planning a potential move for Victor Osimhen in the summer. Will they have enough attacking firepower to cope until the New Year, though?

• READ MORE: Chelsea fans have decided which European striker they now want their club to sign

Paul Merson tells Chelsea they should have signed Niclas Fullkrug

According to Paul Merson, Chelsea should have signed Germany international Niclas Fullkrug in the recent summer transfer window.

West Ham ended up securing the signing of 31-year-old frontman Fullkrug in a £27m deal (BBC) from Borussia Dortmund. Meanwhile, the Blues failed to add a high-profile striker to their squad this season.

Merson told Sportskeeda: “I feel Niclas Fullkrug can make an impact in this game (Fulham vs West Ham). I’m a big fan of his and he scored for Germany during the international break.

“I thought Chelsea should’ve looked to sign him. It was a bit of a surprise to me when they did not make a move. The Blues don’t have a proper striker at the moment.”

Would Niclas Fullkrug have been a good signing?

While we certainly agree that Chelsea could’ve done with signing another forward in the transfer window, we’re not sure Fullkrug would’ve been the best fit. In fact, his switch to West Ham just feels like the right move for all parties.

Fullkrug, who’s come to English football the first time in his career, is very much an old fashioned striker.

The German was impressive by scoring 16 goals and making 10 assists for Dortmund last season, but the jury is out on if he can replicate the same kind of success in the Premier League.

Instead, we’d prefer Chelsea to bring in a younger profile of attacker with a track record of being prolific every year.