Didier Drogba has had an impressive run at Chelsea becoming somewhat of a legend over time but he turned 37-years-old this month and his career is slowly coming to an end. Manager Jose Mourinho will have some major decisions to make as he looks for his next striker and there will be no shortage of options available to the Blues when the summer comes around.
English Premier League fantasy general managers know that the Blues striker spot can be a potential gold mind, so it’s important to see who’ll be next in line for all of those goals. Here is a look at four potential targets for Chelsea that could eventually man the point of their attack.
Patrick Bamford – Middlesbrough
The consensus among soccer experts is that Bamford is ready for his chance with the first team and that could very well be the case after he has spent the season on loan at Middlesbrough. Bamford was featured heavily by Mourinho in the preseason last year and he has made the most of his opportunity with 16 goals already this season. Still just 21-years-old, Bamford is the type of exciting striker prospect that could be the perfect fit to join Chelsea for next season. The fact that Mourinho could add him up front at no cost and use his available transfer money to address other areas of need should make this move that much more sensible. For fantasy purposes. Bamford will be a hot commodity but it’s a lot of pressure on a 21-year-old, so don’t overpay.
Mauro Icardi – Inter Milan
While Bamford remains the most logical addition right now, the fact that Icardi was linked with a move to Chelsea as recently as a month ago suggests that the Blues have a serious interest in acquiring his services. There were reports that Mourinho planned to take advantage of Icardi’s ongoing contract extension negotiations with Inter in order to find a way to land him. It would certainly be interesting to see how Icardi would fit behind Diego Costa up front for the Blues.
There are some that believe Icardi might prefer to stay with Inter where he will have a chance to be a starter rather than take the money and move to Chelsea where he would be forced to come off the bench behind Costa, but in light of the speculation that Mourinho is interested, he has to be considered among the strikers that could potentially move to the Blues.
Enner Valencia – West Ham United
Valencia earned himself a ton of attention with a brilliant performance for Ecuador at the 2014 World Cup that landed him at West Ham United for a reported 12 million euros. While his production has somewhat tailed off as the season has progressed, there is no doubt he would bring a valuable skill set to the table and could be reinvigorated by a potential move to Chelsea. The major question mark for Mourinho will be whether or not the acquisition of Valencia will be too expensive when they have other options available. West Ham United could ask for more than what they paid for him in order to move him and that might be more money than the Blues are willing to spend on his services.
Dominic Solanke – Chelsea
Solanke is among the academy players demanding a lot of attention from the big club as his production has been nothing short of spectacular. While he is still just 17-years-old, Solanke has scored 31 goals in 28 games and he has proven that the spotlight is never too big after thriving since his move to the U-21 team as well. Solanke might benefit from a couple more years in the junior ranks before getting his opportunity but Mourinho and the rest of his staff have to be encouraged by the fact that he has developed in to a capable player so quickly and could be called upon very soon if needed.
