Chelsea’s Search For Marquee Forward Leads To European Auditioning

When news broke last month, that Premier League champions Chelsea, were prepared to allow star forward Diego Costa depart the west London club, after manager Antonio Conte reportedly sent him an SMS with the apparent blessing of the club, a few could have imagined the search for a replacement continuing well-past mid-July.

Conveniently for Costa, he was given an extended holiday and he appears to be making the most of it, recently pictured on Sunday partying in an Atletico Madrid jersey back in his homeland, Brazil.

Conte was reportedly furious with the Chelsea hierarchy for failing to land top transfer target, Romelu Lukaku, who joined rivals Manchester United for £75million. The Blues have desperately tried to tidy up loose ends by bringing in a renowned name to lead the line next season, as they return to the UEFA Champions League, but so far all efforts have proved abortive, with no new forward yet to sign for the champions.

Andrea Belotti, was earlier linked with the Blues, but all that talk appears to have cooled with AC Milan rumoured to be the Italian internationals favoured destination. Alvaro Morata, who incidentally was first-choice to sign for the Red Devils before Lukaku was snapped up even at a considerable higher fee, is also linked with a move to the Blues.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, in the last few days has also been associated with a potential switch from Signal Iduna Park to Stamford Bridge. If there is any truth to those whispers making the rounds of the Gabonese international arriving Chelsea, then we could have the paciest forward line paraded in the Premier League, with Hazard-Aubameyang-Pedro, all possibly starting in a mouth-watering attacking line-up.

Over the last 48 hours, two forwards with massive Premier League experience-Sergio Aguero and Christian Benteke are both linked with a surprise big money move to Chelsea. While Benteke might appear to be a last-ditch option assuming all other deals fail to materialise, the Blues interest in Aguero appears to have sent shivers down the spines of Premier League rivals, who reckon that ‘Kun’ would be a hit at Chelsea with the array of quality players, and game time, provided the medical team understands how to properly manage him.

Chelsea are reportedly plotting a £60million move for the Manchester City forward, but Pep Guardiola is said to be unwilling to strengthen a direct rival. Aguero might appear to be public enemy number one at Chelsea, after his rash challenge on David Luiz last season at the Etihad Stadium sparked a massive brawl.

Such incidents often occur in football, and hence shouldn’t be a barrier to an imminent transfer which benefits all parties involved. Alexis Sanchez is constantly linked with a move to Manchester City, while Gabriel Jesus has publicly been backed by the manager as his number one striker at the Citizens, which only makes it logical for Aguero to seek new employers who can pay his fat wages, guarantee him titles and game time in a world cup year.