January Transfer Window: 5 Possible Answers to Chelsea's Striker Problems

Despite being handed another lifeline by Andre Villas-Boas to prove his worth, Fernando Torres once again failed to score against Fulham on Monday, as Chelsea slumped to its third consecutive draw.

What was interesting about this match, however, was that it seemed that Chelsea's fans had finally given up on Torres.

As the game dragged on, the fans—who had sung Torres' name all season long despite his struggles—stopped singing in support of Torres, signaling that Torres has worn his welcome with even his most loyal of supporters.

Torres will likely still be given a healthy amount of playing time in January while Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are at the African Cup of Nations, but Andre Villas-Boas needs to stop putting all his eggs in Torres' basket and have a Plan B ready in the event that Torres (likely) continues to fail to live up to expectations.

Here are the five players he should attempt to bring into Chelsea's starting lineup in place of Fernando Torres.

Edinson Cavani

Ever since this rumor came about, I've refused to acknowledge it, for many reasons.

First, Edinson Cavani has been at the center of all that is good about Napoli for more than a season now, and without him, I can't seem them achieving their goals in either the Champions League or the Serie A.

Second, if Cavani does leave, I wouldn't expect Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi to be too far behind the exit door; and if those two players leave, then Napoli will have set their progress as a club at least a couple seasons back, if not more.

Third, Chelsea are Napoli's opponents in the Champions League—selling Cavani to them would pretty much mean admitting defeat in the teams' Round of 16 matchup, and in the worst of manners too.

But there's a reason that I'm willing to acknowledge it now: I made many of the same arguments for why a Fernando Torres move to Chelsea was impossible last season, and I was wrong.

My reasoning was right: Liverpool failed to achieve their season goals without Torres, and indeed did set themselves back as a club by a couple of seasons or so. But nevertheless, the move still happened.

As Edinson Cavani himself has said when asked about a possible move away from Napoli: "you never know [and] this is football..."

Selling Cavani would make no sense for Napoli, but money can make the most improbable of deals very probable.

Especially if Torres is sold or maybe even used as a makeweight in a deal for Cavani, there is a very small, but existent chance that Cavani could move to the Blues come January.

Lucas Barrios

Here's a rumor you most likely have not heard heavily reported. Yet it is arguably one of the best possible deals that Chelsea can make this transfer window.

Lucas Barrios (pictured on the left alongside Mario Gotze), has found playing time hard to come by this season after Robert Lewandowski replaced him in the starting lineup while Barrios was injured at the start of the season.

He has made only three starts all season long, and has made his displeasure with his situation very clear:

"

I never thought I would live this after all my goals. I am 27 and it's time to think about my career.

I feel very good in football terms, but the coach has decided for another player, I have to respect that decision, because I am professional.

However, I never imagined living in a situation like this having scored so many goals.

"

Both ESPN and Sky Sports have reported that Borussia Dortmund are willing to allow their ex-hitman, who scored 44 goals in 77 appearances prior to this season, to leave in the January window, and sources are claiming that he could leave Dortmund for as little as €12 million.

Barrios represents a low-risk, high yield possible acquisition for Chelsea.

Should he succeed, then Chelsea has signed an excellent second-option or even replacement for Fernando Torres, and at almost one-fifth of the cost of the Spanish striker.

If he fails, then he can probably be offloaded at half or more of the cost that he was purchased for, representing a minor negative investment for a club like Chelsea.

If Chelsea's more ambitious pursuits, like Gonzalo Higuain, do not transfer to the club, then Barrios represents a solid transfer target for the Blues. 

Alexander Pato

I needed to choose between Gonzalo Higuain and Alexander Pato for this slide, and went with Pato.

The story for both strikers is pretty much the same: both are world-class strikers playing for world-class teams, and have been benched in favor of the other world-class striker(s) on their respective teams.

In Higuain's case, it's Benzema, and in Pato's case, it's Ibrahimovic (Milan play two strikers, but Pato has been benched for his incompatibility with Ibrahimovic).

As with Cavani, I considered both of these rumors as having no chance of being fulfilled. However, upon further research, I believe there is some chance that either may indeed come true come the end of January.

I've omitted Higuain because a) I don't believe Real Madrid will allow themselves to be bullied in the transfer market by the likes of Chelsea, especially not with Jose Mourinho as manager, and b) I think Higuain will be convinced to stay by virtue of the fact that Real Madrid are in the midst of a successful season, while Chelsea are not.

As for Pato, I would've used similar reasoning, but his recent outburst regarding his alleged mistreatment at AC Milan by Massimo Allegri right before the transfer window has made a transfer very possible.

Given his age and the fact that AC Milan developed him as a player from a very young age, the transfer fee would be high, but it's highly unlikely he'd be forced to stay if he indeed decided to call it quits with AC Milan.

At only 22, Alexander Pato would add much-needed youth to Chelsea's striker options and could very easily become Chelsea's first-choice striker for practically an entire decade.

Especially if AC Milan do acquire Carlos Tevez, this is a transfer which could materialize with enough pressure from Chelsea.

Daniel Sturridge

Tricked you didn't I? You thought all the "answers" would be from outside Chelsea's squad, didn't you?

Even if you are frustrated at the deceitful presentation of this idea, hear it out. 

Andre Villas-Boas has already claimed that he does not intend to pursue a new striker in the transfer window, and Chelsea seem to be linked with a great deal of attack-minded midfielders, from Lucas to Kaka to Wesley Sneijder.

Milos Krasic is also seen as a likely transfer target for Chelsea.

Should Chelsea succeed in acquiring any of these targets, it may just be time for Andre Villas-Boas to ditch the ineffective 4-3-3 for a two-striker formation.

Indeed, on numerous occasions Juan Mata has looked much more like an attacking midfielder than a winger, while Daniel Sturridge has looked like a pure striker for much of the season and already proved his effectiveness as a front-man last season with Bolton.

I wouldn't put Daniel Sturridge up front by himself, but moving him from a wide role to a more central striker role opens up numerous options. 

If desired, Juan Mata could play just behind Sturridge in a 4-4-1-1, with Krasic or Ramires and Florent Malouda going down the flanks. 

Another option would be to keep Mata on the flanks, while putting someone like Wesley Sneijder in his favored position (just behind the striker). Lucas and Kaka can operate in similar roles.

Finally, Fernando Torres would likely benefit from the presence of a forward like Daniel Sturridge alongside him, similar to how he used to benefit from the presence of David Villa with Spain.

Playing a target man like Didier Drogba alongside Torres has proved disastrous in the past, but a pacey striker who's willing to share the wealth might be just what Torres needs to get back on form. 

Romelu Lukaku

If all else fails, Chelsea still have arguably the most talented U-21 center-forward in the world playing in their reserves.

Although Romelu Lukaku's father has called for patience with Lukaku's development at Chelsea, surely even Lukaku must feel he deserves more chances than he's been afforded thus far.

As a striker who bagged 41 goals in 98 appearances for one of the best teams in the Belgian league, and one who also has considerable Champions League experience, three substitute Premier League appearances and three League Cup appearances just doesn't seem right; at least not to me.

Especially when other two center forwards at Chelsea—Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres—have massively struggled time and again to produce, and have a total of four goals and two assists between them in 1,507 minutes of EPL action.

I don't expect AVB to start pinning Chelsea's hopes of finishing in the EPL's top four on the back of an 18-year-old center-forward.

However, if Chelsea do not sign a new striker in the transfer window, and choose to stick with their present formation, it would seem rather ridiculous to keep Lukaku scoring for fun in the reserves.

Surely Lukaku can't perform worse than Torres has in recent games.

What do you think are Chelsea's best options in the January Transfer Window? Is it time for a change of formation, and what formation might be most likely to improve Chelsea's results?

Share your input in the comments section below.