Chelsea's Bizarre Transfer-Window Search for a Striker: Not Just Banter

It has been a month when Chelsea fans did not know whether to laugh or cry.

It started brightly enough with the signing of Ross Barkley from Everton for £15 million: a good fee for an England international midfielder many feel is yet to hit his best form.  

Since then, though, everything has seemed a little strange.

Andy Carroll, Peter Crouch and Ashley Barnes have all been linked with the Blues, while a deal for Edin Dzeko has also been progressing.

Deadline day is now looming, so I have explored whether enquiries made during this transfer window really have been as random as they seemed.

Conte's Plan of Attack

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To understand why Chelsea are even in this situation, we must get inside the mind of manager Antonio Conte. 

Last summer, a new striker was recruited in the shape of £60 million Alvaro Morata, and that arrival came on the back of a £33.2 million deal for Michy Batshuayi one year earlier.

Such statements in the market should be enough to keep a manager happy, but that hasn't been the case.

Batshuayi has not been trusted as a contender for a starting spot, and there has been a feeling Morata has more goals in the tank if his full potential is realised.

In his press conferences throughout January, Conte has given an idea of what he is visualising.

"In the January transfer market, you go to improve your squad in a short period," he said last week.

"In my idea of football, we need a striker who must be a point of reference. The No. 9 is an important player because I want him to be a point of reference to our team."

Primarily, Conte needs a short-term solution for goal output to help out his first-choice forward. Ideally, he wants someone to put pressure on Morata for a starting role.

He has wanted to go after top, proven international frontmen, but the club are apprehensive about giving him much cash.

After all, there is a high chance he won't be with them beyond this season.

The Andy Carroll Rumour

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When Carroll was first linked to Chelsea, there was plenty of jest. "What have we done to deserve this" seemed to be the general feeling among Blues fans. 

It seemed ridiculous. Plenty were willing to write it off as fake news, but there was substance to the rumour.

Chelsea had begun their hunt for an alternative striking option to out-of-form Morata and enquired about a loan deal.

There was a feeling his physical attributes would give Chelsea a new Plan B, with Batshuayi remaining unconvincing. 

Sources have told B/R that the player was keen on the prospect, but West Ham were absolutely ruling out the possibility of a loan move.

If Carroll were to make a switch away from London Stadium, it would be for a fee in the region of £20 million.

Chelsea were never willing to meet such a figure, particularly due to his injury record, and it did not matter anyway. Days later, it emerged the striker has an ankle injury that will rule him out for around three months. 

The Option of Peter Crouch

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With the Carroll deal in no shape to progress, Stoke City's giant frontman Crouch emerged as a target.

Again, the jokes on social media came thick and fast.

Interestingly, the striker has a home near Chelsea's Cobham training ground, but quite how serious the Blues were about recruiting him seems unclear.

On one hand, sources at Stoke are adamant there was contact from a representative working on behalf of Chelsea. The Potters, though, never had any intention of letting him leave.

Sources around Chelsea were less convincing about whether they were going to actively pursue him anyway.

As one contact explained: "The club have been in a situation where they are looking for a striker of a certain type, so it is pretty normal to sound out other clubs about the current status of such players. It is often a case of clubs simply asking a question of availability and pondering their options." 

Wanted: Big Frontman

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We were given a glimpse of Chelsea's forward vision in the summer, as Conte urged the club to tie up a deal for Fernando Llorente.

Tottenham Hotspur beat them in the race for his signature, and insiders have told B/R it left Conte deeply unhappy.

He wanted Llorente, not only for his physicality and style of play, but because of his experience. He saw him as the perfect man to come on and change games and to compete for a starting role.

Chelsea enquired about the possibility of a deal this month, but it fell on deaf ears at Spurs, so Chelsea's shortlist of big frontmen was consulted again.

Burnley's Ashley Barnes was a name that cropped up but never actively pursued, and I am told the feelers were also put out at West Bromwich Albion over the possibility of signing Salomon Rondon.

These are all names we would not typically expect to see joining Chelsea, but part of Conte's plan is that Morata needs to be allowed more freedom.

There is a feeling he requires someone to take care of the central defenders at times so he has more space to exploit around them.

Whoever joins Chelsea needs to be reliable through the middle, as Morata may also go wide right at times.

Olivier Giroud is the latest name linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, but everything depends on how talks develop with a certain man from AS Roma. 

Dzeko to the Rescue?

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For all the banter Chelsea fans have had to endure in their search for a striker, Dzeko's name has been standing out as a beacon of hope.

The club has been negotiating a deal to bring him back to the Premier League, and Conte has had him in position ahead of any other target.

The former Manchester City man is the most ambitious name on their shortlist, but also the most testing due to the finances involved and his age. 

Dzeko is involved in a double deal with Emerson Palmieri, but his part of the move will cost in advance of £20 million, and that is not something the club would usually consider for a player in his 30s.

His future role has been outlined directly by Conte to reassure the Bosnia and Herzegovina international he will not be simply sat on the bench as back-up, like Bathsuayi. Instead he would compete to be the main striker.

Dzeko is 31, and a major issue is the length of any deal—previous signings such as Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba had to settle for one-year contracts in keeping with club policy.

Chelsea are trying to find a solution but have warned Conte they will not be breaking the bank if it starts to become too tricky.

It has certainly been a strange month to be a Chelsea fan, but if they manage to land a striker of Dzeko's standing, they will be having the last laugh.