Paul Merson explained one Chelsea problem under Thomas Tuchel that he believes could deter Borussia Dortmund ace Erling Haaland from joining the Blues.
The nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions is a testament to Chelsea’s incredible defensive improvement under the new manager.
Tuchel’s Chelsea kept their seventh clean-sheet in the goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
But while they have been very solid defensively, there are still questions over their quality on the other end of the pitch.
Merson thinks Chelsea need an upgrade their striker options and sees reported Chelsea transfer target Haaland (Eurosport) as an ideal potential signing.
“I think next season Thomas Tuchel will be saying to the board, to Roman Abramovich, I need a top-drawer centre-forward,” Merson told Sky Sports (via Metro).
“At the moment, I don’t see Tammy Abraham or Olivier Giroud being in that category.”
Merson, however, questioned whether Chelsea could convince Haaland to join even if they could afford to meet Dortmund’s £100million+ asking price.
The lack of attacking intent from Tuchel’s Chelsea, according to Merson, would only deter the Norway international.
“He [Haaland] will be looking at the way Chelsea play, and that they’ve only scored eight goals in seven games,” he added.
“You can only score goals if there’s chances and Chelsea haven’t made a lorry load of chances.
“Chelsea need to be showing more than what they’re showing at the moment.
“Because if I’m a world-class centre-forward and Chelsea want me, I’m having a look and saying to my agent: ‘They don’t really make a lot of chances, do they?’.
“‘Even though they’re a good team, I’m not getting five or six chances in the game. I’m working on scraps.'”
Chronicle view
While saying Haaland would not want to join Chelsea just because of their poor goalscoring form is an over-simplistic view, Merson still made a good point.
It is safe to say that Haaland will be able to freely choose where he wants to play next, whether it is this summer or in summer 2022 when his reported release clause will become active (The Athletic).
And it is hard to argue against Chelsea’s underwhelming attacking statistics.
To put it into perspective, Man United’s Bruno Fernandes and Man City’s Kevin de Bruyne have created 17 and 15 big chances in the league this season, respectively (PL’s official website).
While Mason Mount, who has had the most at Chelsea, has created just six and ranked 22nd in the league.
These numbers would not excite any striker, let alone Haaland, one of the most sought-after goalscorers in world football.
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