Chelsea have been linked with 3 strikers - this is the £100m one they must sign

The stats make for excruciating reading; since Todd Boehly arrived at Chelsea, the club has spent over £1 billion on incoming transfers, and over the course of the calendar year thus far, they have taken just 39 points in the Premier League. To contextualise that further, with the exception of sides who have either been promoted or relegated in that time, no top flight outfit have recorded a lower tally. It is an abysmally poor juxtaposition of expenditure and subsequent yield.

And yet, like an eccentric aristocrat who has sunk his entire inheritance into an expedition to the lost city of El Dorado, onwards they press. Reports in recent days have made it clear that manager Mauricio Pochettino is dissatisfied with his squad, and as a consequence, more signings could be demanded in January, with several enforced outgoings engineered to appease the vengeful gods of Financial Fair Play.

In particular, there is talk of a serious attempt to sign a new striker, with The Guardian suggesting that the Blues have compiled a shortlist of three big names ahead of the winter window; Ivan Toney, Viktor Gyokeres, and Victor Osimhen. Given the monikers of the latter two, perhaps Pochettino and Boehly are hoping for a little bit of nominative determinism. But which, if any, would be a good fit for Chelsea's muddled project? We've taken a closer look below...

Ivan Toney

The long-term target, the one who has been linked with Stamford Bridge since Methuselah was knee-high to a grasshopper, and ultimately, the only striker on Chelsea's shortlist with actual Premier League experience. Toney is garnering admiring glances from all across the top flight, and to that end, whoever signs him are going to have to fend off a considerable amount of competition for his signature.

Brentford have recognised this too, and their quoted price tag of £100 million suggests that they are eager to milk a bidding war for all that it is worth. As things stand, Arsenal are the Blues' most probable foe when it comes to prising Toney away from his current employers, but there are definite merits to winning the battle for his services. With the exception of Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, no player in the Premier League scored more goals than the 27-year-old last season, and his return since making the step up from the Championship has been consistently impressive.

Of course, at the time of writing, Toney is still serving a ban for gambling-related offences, but he will be permitted to return to competitive action from January 17th, and there is no reason to believe that he will have lost any of his customary sharpness. In fact, the only real argument against Chelsea making a play for the forward is that they might be able to secure a better option elsewhere...

Victor Osimhen

Somewhere like Naples, for example. There aren't many strikers in world football as hotly-tipped or highly-regarded as Victor Osimhen right now. Napoli's masked man has become the very definition of a sensation, and his seemingly ceaseless goal return has helped The Little Donkeys to reclaim a rightful spot at the forefront of the Italian game. Since signing from LOSC Lille in 2020, the Nigerian has registered 65 goals in 115 outings across all competitions, including 31 in 39 last season.

Certainly, compared to Toney and Gyokeres, there is an air of the elite surrounding Osimhen, and it is no coincidence that he is also being linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United, among others. Evidently, this is going to be reflected in his price tag, with Napoli expected to hold out for in excess of £100 million for the player. That being said, when you consider the fee that Brentford are demanding for Toney, that price suddenly begins to look slightly more palatable. If Chelsea can convince Osimhen to voluntarily join their purgatory, then he is the one they should be looking to sign.

Viktor Gyokeres

And finally, the wildcard option. It was only a few short months ago that Gyokeres was leading the line for Coventry City in the Championship, and while it was evident even then that he was ready for the big time, it is perhaps something of a stretch to the put him under the same umbrella as an Osimhen just yet.

That being said, with 15 goals and seven assists in 18 outings for Sporting CP, he is becoming harder and harder to ignore as a genuine top tier talent, and if he continues impress in the manner that he currently is, then another high profile move is surely only just around the corner. For now, however, he might still be too much of a gamble for the Blues, especially given their current plight.