Antonio Conte has several decisions to make regarding Chelsea’s strike force for next season.
I feel as though every article I’ve written about Chelsea for the last month all start the same way.
“Chelsea have a lot of work to do” is usually the general consensus of every article introduction. However, the reason I continue to mention this is not because I enjoy repeating thoughts. The Blues genuinely have a large reconstruction project on their hands.
And what makes it worse is that they have to do it quickly. The West Londoners can ill afford to be absent from the Champions League for more than a season if they are to retain their top players or attract new ones.
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The man who’s been tasked to make the changes is former Juventus manager, Antonio Conte and he’ll have his work cut out for him. While Chelsea’s defense seems to be the largest area needing correction, the offense is no manager’s dream either.
This season, the Blues will end with about 5 strikers on the roster. However, the only one that poses a consistent threat is Diego Costa, and that’s when he’s healthy or not suspended.
After the Spaniard, Chelsea have an injury prone, over the hill Radamel Falcao, who has failed to do anything during his time at Stamford Bridge. Additionally, they have Alexandre Pato, who took two months to see his first minutes of game time. The Brazilian has done little to justify a continued stay past his loan agreement.
Looking past those two train wrecks, there is Loic Remy, who just shouldn’t be a Chelsea player anymore. And then there’s Bertrand Traore, who is promising, but cannot be relied on as the sole backup option.
Therefore, there are several steps that Conte will have to take in order to fix the problems he has up top.
Next: Retain Diego Costa