Chelsea in talks to sign “one of best STs in Europe”

It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster season for Chelsea already this year.

One week, they’ll demolish Barcelona in the Champions League and hold Premier League leaders Arsenal to a 1-1 draw despite being down a man, but just a few days later, they’ll go and lose 3-1 away at newly promoted Leeds United.

The West Londoners do have a lot of talent in the team, but they’ve also got areas that are underperforming, like their summer striker signings, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

It looks like the club aren’t overly pleased with the pair’s output either, as reports are now linking them with a goalscoring striker who could send them both packing.

Chelsea target Delap & Pedro upgrade

As is the case every year, Chelsea have started to be linked with a whole host of brilliant players ahead of the winter transfer window opening next month.

For example, Club Brugge’s highly rated young centre-back, Joel Ordonez, has been touted for a move to Stamford Bridge, where he would join up with former Independiente del Valle teammate and compatriot Moises Caicedo.

However, while the Ecuadorian international could be the answer to the Blues’ defensive issues, he’s certainly not an upgrade on Delap or Pedro, unlike Serhou Guirassy.

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Yes, according to a recent report from German publication BILD, Chelsea are one of several sides interested in signing the prolific centre-forward.

In fact, the report has revealed that the West Londoners have already been in contact with the player’s camp over a potential move.

However, any move would have to take place in the summer as the 29-year-old has made it clear he wishes to end the season with Borussia Dortmund, who have placed a €50m release clause in his deal, which is about £44m.

Even so, this is a transfer Chelsea should be pushing for, as Guirassy is a goal machine and would be a clear upgrade on Pedro and Delap.

How Guirassy compares to Delap and Pedro

Now, there are two things that both Pedro and Delap have over Guirassy.

These are their ages, as the Guinea international is now 29, and they have Premier League experience.

However, the Dortmund star has them not just beaten, but comfortably so, when it comes to the most important metric of all for forwards: output.

For example, so far this season, the 26-capped international has scored nine goals and provided four assists in 19 appearances, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.46 games, or every 115.46 minutes.

In contrast, the Brazilian has produced seven goal involvements in 17 appearances, totalling 1345 minutes, which comes out to an average of one every 2.42 games, or every 192.14 minutes.

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For his efforts, the Englishman has produced a single goal involvement in ten appearances, totalling 421 minutes.

Okay then, what about last season? Surely it wasn’t as one-sided?

Unfortunately for the two Chelsea stars, it very much was, with the Dortmund monster racking up a truly world-class tally of 38 goals and nine assists in 50 appearances, totalling 4244 minutes.

That comes out to an outrageous average of a goal involvement every 1.06 games, or every 90.29 minutes, which more than justifies Lothar Matthaus’ claim that he is “one of the best strikers in Europe.”

For comparison’s sake, Pedro produced 20 goal involvements in 33 appearances, totalling 2299 minutes, which is an average of one every 1.65 games, or every 114.95 minutes.

Delap did even worse than that, producing 16 goal involvements in 46 appearances, totalling 2976 minutes, which comes out to an average of one every 2.87 games, or every 186 minutes.

Ultimately, while it might not be a simple transfer to complete, Chelsea should be going all out to sign Guirassy, even if that spells the end for their two summer signings.

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