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Alvaro Morata and 4 other strikers Chelsea could buy this summer

By Chinasia Ibonye
19 July 2017   |   2:04 pm
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, should have a smile on his face these days after signing an improved two-year deal with the club.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, should have a smile on his face these days after signing an improved two-year deal with the club. He didn’t extend his original three-year deal, he just improved on the financial terms. However, that smile will quickly disappear from the Italian face when the reality of his attacking situation sets in.
It’s not been the best transfer window so far in the attacking department for Conte as he’s still without a top striker after letting go of Diego Costa and losing the signature of Romelu Lukaku to rivals Manchester United. The market is inflated right now and isn’t brimming with top of the range strikers, but there are a few that can still lead the attack for the Pensioneers if they are willing to splash the cash for them. I will be highlighting five strikers Chelsea can get to replace Diego Costa.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
With a price tag of about £60M, I personally think that the Gabonese striker is undervalued in today’s market, given all the attributes he possesses and how well he’s delivered for Dortmund in the last couple of years. This is a striker that Chelsea should waste no time in acquiring after they matched Manchester United’s £75M bid for Romelu Lukaku at the last minute. That money should have just been taken and used to purchase the Gabonese from Dortmund. He is tall, fast, skilful and a poacher, what more would you want from a striker. He also has great link-up play and can play anywhere in the front three. He can be deployed on either side of the striker, besides the centre forwards role as well. On the right, he can play as a more traditional winger, and an inverted one on the left. But in both roles he can be seen cutting inside, naturally moving into the box. He loves to take on defenders and thrives on one-on-one situations. He has scored a total of 120 goals in 189 games for the German side and will be a steal for Chelsea if they can get him at £60m.

Dortmund’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reacts during the German First division Bundesliga football match Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg in Dortmund on February 18, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ /

Alvaro Morata
The Spanish striker seemed to be on his way to Old Trafford earlier in the transfer window, but Real Madrid’s insistence on about £70M from the Manchester-based club made them turn their attention away from Morata and they snapped up Romelu Lukaku, who ironically seemed to be on his way to Stamford Bridge. That snub from Manchester United has made Madrid reduce the asking price for the want-away striker and it might just play in well to Chelsea’s hand. Antonio Conte already knows a lot about Morata as he facilitated the Spaniard’s move to Juventus in 2014. Madrid are now willing to sell Morata for about £60M and that should be affordable for Chelsea. He is a prolific striker and scored 15 league goals from just 14 starts last season, more than Karim Benzema, who is the first-choice striker for the club. He will score more goals if he finds a club where he can be the main striker and Chelsea can offer him that.

Alvaro Morata PHOTO:AFP

Andrea Belotti
There are rumours swirling around that this striker has reportedly agreed to join AC Milan over Chelsea, however, they are just rumours and nothing has been finalized, so Chelsea can still make a bid for the Italian. He was a revelation for Torino last season scoring 26 goals in 35 league games to become one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe currently. The 23-year-old is very comfortable shooting with either foot, very strong aerially, has an eye for goal and can really put in a shift, a trait that Antonio Conte requires from his players. His price tag might be a problem for Chelsea as he has a buy-out clause of £85M for non-Italian teams and Torino have been insisting all summer that any team outside Italy must meet that price if they want to get him.

Andrea Belotti

Timo Werner
The RB Leipzig forward is only 21 years old and could be a long-term solution up front for Chelsea. He played a big part in Leipzig’s impressive debut Bundesliga campaign last season, scoring 21 goals. Werner is always willing to use his pace to run in behind opposition defences, thereby stretching plays and asking a lot from defenders. His movement without the ball is very intelligent, making him very clinical in the penalty area. However, Leipzig are under no pressure to sell and the club would want to keep all of their key men ahead of a debut Champions League campaign. He has no buy-out clause and this would allow the club put a hefty price tag on him to ward off Chelsea if they were to make any move for the young striker.

Fernando Llorente

Fernando Llorente

Chelsea were linked to the Spaniard in January and it seems that Conte wouldn’t mind bringing Llorente to Stamford Bridge. The 32-year-old striker was vital to Swansea staying in the Premier League last season as his 15 goals in the EPL ensured the Welsh outfit’s safety. He has only one-year remaining on his contract and wouldn’t cost anywhere near as much as the other players on the list. However, he is unlikely to be an outright first-choice given his age and might also miss the start of the season due to a broken arm he sustained while cycling on holiday, but that shouldn’t prevent a deal from being reached before the campaign gets underway if Chelsea wants to get him. The 2010 World Cup winner has scored a total of 139 league goals in Spain, Italy and England and his experience will be very valuable to Chelsea.

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