Chelsea have already signed Liam Delap this summer but the club remain interested in adding another striker to their ranks before the 2025/26 season gets under way.
The Blues hold a concrete interest in Hugo Ekitike, football.london understands, though will not pay the €100million (£84.5million) asking price from Eintracht Frankfurt. At this moment in time, Frankfurt are showing no signs of budging from their valuation of the 22-year-old striker, which would see Chelsea pull out of the deal.
The west Londoners believe Ekitike would add the required competition and support in the middle of attack. Marc Guiu looks set to join Ipswich Town on loan, while Christopher Nkunku is expected to depart on a permanent basis, leaving head coach Enzo Maresca with Delap and Nicolas Jackson to choose from.
While two No.9s vying for the same spot might seem like enough on paper, there are circumstances that need to be considered. Chelsea will once again compete in a very intense and hectic season, with very little break between the conclusion of the FIFA Club World Cup – should the Blues go all the way over in the United States – and the beginning of the Premier League campaign in August.
Chelsea will also be involved in the Champions League and while the Blues got used to European football taking part in the Conference League, the continent’s elite competition will prove its own unique challenge to this young squad of players. On top of all of that, there is a chance Chelsea will be missing Jackson for the latter parts of December up until January 18 due to the African Cup of Nations competition.
Senegal get a bye to the group stage of the competition and Jackson is likely to be called up to the squad for the tournament. Having Ekitike on board then would be ideal, so Maresca would have two strikers in the Frenchman and Delap to choose from in Jackson’s absence.
Maresca actually spoke about the lack of options he had on the bench towards the latter parts of the 2024/25 Premier League season. The Chelsea head coach, speaking in April, bemoaned the squad’s lack of depth, especially when Jackson missed a couple of months with a hamstring injury.
“We are not [just] young, we are the youngest team in the Premier League and the second in European football,” Maresca explained. “Look at the games against Brighton away and see our bench, we have three players that were born in 2006.
“I don’t remember years ago, for instance, when [Didier] Drogba was here and the manager changed Drogba, who was on the bench? Fernando Torres? I don’t know. I don’t remember. Now we change Nico with Tyrique [George] from the academy. You see that? I see that.”
Elsewhere, with Nkunku set to leave the club, it leaves Chelsea with one less option for the No.9 role. Maresca sees Nkunku as more of a No.10 but has used the Frenchman as the focal point in attack at times this season when resting or missing Jackson.
Chelsea, though, are serious when it comes to finding value in the market this summer. Similarly with their pursuit of Mike Maignan, the Blues will not pay what they deem to be over the odds for a player, especially when they believe there is wiggle room in negotiations.
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