Chelsea were flying high at the start of this campaign, scoring for fun, creating plenty of chances and finishing teams off. However, things haven’t been as plain sailing in the past few months.
Enzo Maresca’s side have become overly reliant on goals from three main sources, with Cole Palmer scoring 14 Premier League goals, Nicolas Jackson scoring nine Premier League goals and Noni Madueke scoring seven in the league.
Now, things are about to get even worse for the Blues, as one of their top three scorers is set to be sidelined for a significant period of time, which could see Maresca scrambling for a solution.
The latest on Nicolas Jackson’s injury
The Telegraph has confirmed that Jackson will now be out until at least the end of March, possibly the beginning of April.
This comes after he sustained an injury against West Ham in Chelsea’s last Premier League fixture, which will leave Maresca without a natural number nine, as Marc Guiu is also set to be out for a few weeks.
The 23-year-old had a brilliant start to the season, scoring eight goals in the opening 13 Premier League games, and also providing three assists in that time frame.
However, since then, Jackson has only managed to score one goal and provide two assists in the last ten matches.
Now without Jackson and Guiu, Maresca is likely to have to play either Christopher Nkunku or Cole Palmer as a striker (not their natural positions) in order to deal with their lack of a striker, but perhaps their answer was there all along, being sold at the wrong time.
The Cobham star who could have replaced Jackson
Back in 2017, Dominic Solanke’s contract expired at Chelsea, allowing him to join Liverpool, only having to pay £3m as compensation (decided by a tribunal).
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Since then, the English striker has gone on to play for Liverpool, Bournemouth and now Tottenham, really starting to come into his own at the age of 27.
Solanke only ever made one appearance for the Chelsea senior side, but his 77 goals in 216 games for Bournemouth truly catapulted his career, earning him a huge £65m move to Tottenham in the summer.
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Solanke vs Jackson comparison in 24/25 |
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|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per 90 mins) |
Solanke |
Jackson |
|
Goals |
0.4 |
0.5 |
|
Assists |
0.2 |
0.3 |
|
Shots |
1.8 |
2.8 |
|
Shots on Target |
1.2 |
1.6 |
|
Conversion Rate % |
21.88% |
16.98% |
|
Chances Created |
0.7 |
1.3 |
|
Aerial Duels Contested |
4.4 |
2.1 |
|
Aerial Duels Won |
1.9 |
0.8 |
|
Touches (Opp Box) |
5.4 |
6.5 |
|
Stats taken from Squawka |
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Solanke and Jackson are compared as “similar players” by FBref, which shows in their underlying metrics too. Both players rank closely in their output provided per 90, both looking to link play and provide for others as well as themselves.
Ange Postecoglou has praised Solanke, labelling him “outstanding” already this season, and his ability to work hard from the front, contest duels in and around the box and finish at a clinical level is exactly why he is so well suited to the Premier League.
Not only is Solanke the exact profile Chelsea are currently missing, but he is also showing exactly why development isn’t always linear, now coming into his prime years and proving he can be a top Premier League striker, one which the Blues would likely appreciate having right about now.
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