£1.5bn spent and still no striker – how did Chelsea end up in this position?

Before Friday’s Premier League match against Brighton, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said they “need to find something different” since they don’t have a proper center-forward available.

After losing 3-0 and not having a single shot on target, it seems like the Italian is still looking for a solution.

Despite spending over £1.5bn since the Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly takeover less than three years ago, a recent injury crisis has left Chelsea’s squad looking thin, especially up front.

How did they end up with no fit strikers, and how can they fix their attacking problems?

More than £1.5bn spent – so where are all the strikers?

Since the takeover, Chelsea has signed many attacking players. They’ve spent £445m on forwards, but besides the injured Nicolas Jackson, none have been able to prove themselves as a strong number nine.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was brought in for £12m from Barcelona for former manager Thomas Tuchel, but after Tuchel’s sacking, Aubameyang was sidelined and never given a chance. He later went on to score goals for Marseille and moved to Saudi Arabia.

The only other central strikers they’ve signed were David Datro Fofana, Deivid Washington, and Marc Guiu, young players costing a total of £34m. None of them have seemed ready for Premier League play, let alone meeting the high standards expected at Chelsea.

Most of the £445m spent went on players like Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, and Cole Palmer—mostly wingers or number 10s.

Palmer has been the most consistent, being involved in a league-high 39 goals (26 goals and 13 assists) in 2024.

Felix had an eye-watering £10m loan fee in 2023 from Atletico Madrid, later rejoining Chelsea on a permanent deal for £45m last summer. He is now on loan at AC Milan.

What forwards do they have available?

Jackson is out for about six weeks with a hamstring injury. He got hurt against West Ham two weeks ago, and although Maresca was initially hopeful, scans revealed the injury was more severe than expected.

Guiu, a 19-year-old who hasn’t started a Premier League game yet, is also injured, and he will be out for a period of “weeks or months” with a groin issue from the West Ham game.

Mudryk, the Ukrainian winger, has been suspended for allegedly testing positive for a banned substance.

To make matters worse, Noni Madueke appeared to injure his hamstring while setting up a chance for Palmer at Brighton and had to leave the field for treatment. Maresca said he would be out for a while.

As a result, Chelsea’s last three fit senior forwards—Palmer, Pedro Neto, and Jadon Sancho—were the only ones left on the pitch after Madueke’s substitution. Tyrique George, an academy winger, was the only other attacking option for the second half.

How has Maresca tried to solve the problem?

Maresca hinted at changing his tactics for the Brighton match due to Nkunku’s difficulties playing as a forward.

The French striker has struggled with form, scoring only one goal in 11 league matches across all competitions.

Maresca decided to move Nkunku away from the number nine role, where he had a tough time in the FA Cup match against Brighton just days earlier. He swapped Nkunku’s position with Palmer.

However, the plan was affected by Madueke’s injury, leaving Chelsea with only Neto as a player who could run behind the defense.

This led to Chelsea having a lot of possession, but no real goal-scoring threat. They made 648 passes and had 69.4% possession at Amex Stadium but couldn’t force Brighton’s goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to make a save.

After the game, Maresca said: “It is difficult when you don’t have a proper number nine. In the last third, we struggled doing things that until a week or two ago we were doing well. This is the worst moment since I arrived but we are still there and we need to finish in the best way.”

It was a similar situation in the FA Cup match, where Chelsea controlled possession and passed more than their opponents, but only had one shot on target.

Chelsea’s best chance is to improve Nkunku’s performance, but without affecting Palmer, who has been declining after his good partnership with Jackson was interrupted.

In reality, despite the big spending, Maresca simply doesn’t have enough options.

What’s going on with Palmer?

Palmer has gone four Premier League games without scoring, which is his longest streak since joining Chelsea in the summer of 2023.

Even though he hasn’t scored recently, his performance this season has been strong. He has scored 14 goals and made six assists, so he is still on track to match the 22 goals he scored in 2023-24.

While he has continued to produce good numbers, he has been used in a slightly different, more central role under Maresca than he was under previous manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Before the match, Maresca described Palmer as “more a linking player.”

By playing Palmer centrally against Brighton, without a central striker ahead of him, Maresca hoped Palmer could drop deeper and assist the wide players running forward.

Palmer’s passing map against Brighton shows he tried to influence the game by drifting across the forward line, but for much of the game, he looked frustrated.

“Football is a team, it’s not tennis,” said Maresca when asked about Palmer’s recent lack of goals. “It’s not only Cole Palmer. We are all the same in this moment.”