Jose Must Sign a Striker or Risk Title

It has been well-documented that it is the only flaw in our starting eleven. A goalscorer. Yes, we have Fernando Torres, but he is not the most consistent to say the least. Demba Ba is hardly ever given a chance by Jose to prove his worth. I can even go as far as to say that Ba is being used a scapegoat for the difficulties of his two attacking team-mates. Meanwhile, it is fair to say Samuel Eto’o is not the player he once was.

Shoot a glance at the most menacing of our title rivals, Manchester City. You don’t have to look far to see why City are favourites for the Premier League crown this season. It is indisputable that we are a match for them in midfield, much more solid and compact in defence but Pellegrini’s side undoubtedly posses a more potent force upfront. Alvaro Negredo and Sergio Aguero have eight and 13 goals each, more than the trio of Ba, Torres and Eto’o have managed. It can be argued that Ba, Torres and Eto’o are constantly rotated whilst Aguero and Negredo are sure of their place in the side. What is undeniable is that our three attackers are not on a par with the City duo.

So the million-pound question is how do we compete with a team who register the most goals the Barclays Premier League has ever seen at a half-way point of a season while our forwards have managed only seven goals between them. Torres only netted our first goal scored by a striker away from home for over a year on Saturday. This million-pound question has a very simple answer Jose has struggled to figure out. Sign a world-class, proven and prolific goalscorer in the January transfer window.

Despite becoming agitated with his strikers’ ineptitude to score, therefore resulting in dropping points in Premier League matches this season (Everton, Newcastle and Stoke), Mourinho has revealed that he will not use the January transfer window as an opportunity to reinforce his squad.

The Portuguese coach insists that he has a long-term vision at Stamford Bridge, where he will allow his current players to develop rather than recruiting expensive competition for the squad. The competition which would force players to play to their limits in order to keep their place.

He told reporters before our clash with Southampton: “I am happy with them and there will be no new strikers in January as we trust these guys and we go with them,” Mourinho said.

“They show ability, initiative, almost score goals, I am happy with them. They are not the kind of players who will score every weekend, or 30 goals a season. But they are giving everything they have.”

For me, this is not what I want to hear. With an Aguero or Suarez, we would undoubtedly be top of the league with a few points to spare. Now, with Arsenal eyeing up Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata while City await the return of Aguero from injury to resume his lethal partnership with Negredo, we could be in real trouble. If Hazard picks up an injury, who do we look to for goals?

With the teams around us preparing to strengthen this month, we could be in a spot of bother if we don’t do a bit of business ourselves.