Chelsea are struggling in front of goal so far this season in the Premier League.
Chelsea have yet to click into gear under Mauricio Pochettino, yet the previous few weeks could perhaps be a turning point in their season.
Having secured just one win across their opening six Premier League matches of the season, the Argentinian failed to push the panic button and regrouped following the 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in September.
Since then, the Blues have won three of their last four matches and only a late Arsenal comeback prevented that from being four out of four, indicating that there is progress being made.
In order to challenge for the European spots however, this improvement will need to be consistent heading into the festive season and perhaps missing out on continental qualification this season is proving to be a blessing in disguise for the Stamford Bridge outfit.
Chelsea have struggled in front of goal this season
Since the start of the season, only Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester City have conceded fewer than Chelsea’s nine goals in the league and this vast defensive improvement could be key as the campaign progresses.
Indeed, the Blues shipped 47 goals last term as they limped home to a dreadful 12th-place finish and Pochettino has seemingly seen this as an area that needs strengthening.
What is more concerning however is their lack of goals. Across nine games, Chelsea have scored just 13 league goals, with nine teams netting more, and in order to be pushing into the top six, Pochettino must be demanding more from his attacking options.
Both Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling have scored three goals each and the duo currently lead the scoring charts so far this season, hardly the numbers that Pochettino would have been expecting upon his arrival, especially given the vast amount of talent he has at his disposal.
The club need someone who is going to score on a regular basis, and they could well do with someone like former player Alvaro Morata, who is enjoying a wonderful season so far for Atletico Madrid.
Alvaro Morata spent just one full season at Chelsea
Having secured the Premier League title during the 2016/17 season, Antonio Conte looked to further improve his squad and signed Morata from Real Madrid for a fee that could have reached £70m.
The Spaniard had just come off the back of his most profitable season yet for the La Liga side, scoring 20 goals during the whole term, including 15 league efforts, as he won both the Champions League and top-flight titles.
On paper, it looked like a solid signing, especially as he was still relatively young and had not quite reached his peak years, but it did not work out.
While the Blues failed to retain their Premier League title, Conte led them to victory in the FA Cup final and Morata ended the season with 15 goals across all competitions, a decent return for his maiden foray into English football.
He then netted nine goals up until January, yet it was clear he fell out of favour with Maurizio Sarri and the Italian bringing Gonzalo Higuain to the club gave the former Real Madrid starlet a licence to leave.
A loan move to Atletico Madrid was confirmed and during the summer of 2019, it was revealed that the striker was set to join Atletico on a £58m deal when his loan move was completed as Frank Lampard was looking to build his team around other players.
Alvaro Morata has enjoyed success recently
He did not spend long in the Spanish capital, returning to Juventus on a single-season loan deal in 2020 and he ended up spending two years in Turin, scoring 31 times across the two years, yet the Serie A side did not take him up on a permanent deal.
Since returning to Spain however, he has enjoyed some of the best football of his career. During the 2022/23 season, Morata scored 15 goals and this was a solid platform to build on ahead of the current campaign, where he has started off magnificently.
Indeed, after only 11 matches, the 31-year-old has already found the back of the net on eight occasions and that includes three in three Champions League matches.
In Europe’s elite competition, Morata ranks first across the Atletico squad for goals and assists (three) while also ranking first for shots on target per game (1.7) and second for scoring frequency (a goal every 84 minutes) and these statistics demonstrate he is proving to be a positive influence on the squad.
It is not just on the European stage that he is impressing, with the striker ranking behind only Antonie Griezmann for La Liga goals while topping the pile for shots on target per game (1.1) and winning one penalty, and it appears as though the forward is in the form of his life.
His eight goals combined this season mean he has outscored every single Chelsea player under Pochettino and there is no doubt they could use a player in this type of form as they chase some momentum.
The season is still young and all the signs are pointing in the right direction with regard to progress being made on the pitch, especially over the last few weeks, but more will be expected from Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja heading into the next few months.
Morata failed to really showcase his true talents at Chelsea, scoring only 24 goals in 72 appearances, and was perhaps not given much of a chance following the departure of Conte in the summer of 2018.
He is not the most prolific of players, yet this season, Morata has begun brilliantly and if he keeps this sort of form up, he may start to attract attention from elsewhere.
Lampard seemingly was not a big fan of the Spaniard, based on his decision to sanction a sale, yet Chelsea are crying out for a player who is extremely clinical in the penalty area and can score all types of goals.
The January transfer market is not that far away, and only time will tell whether or not Pochettino be tempted to dive back in and spend even more money to further bolster his team.
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