This article could be meaningless come January. Chelsea’s strikers might become prolific goal scorers by Christmas; Chelsea might be top of the table with a 10 point advantage at the end of December. But being realistic, neither of these things are going to happen. Chelsea spent over 60 million pounds in the summer transfer window, and the club still doesn't look like the real deal. Most of the purchases were of players that play in the space behind the striker. And now with ample depth in that area of the pitch, Jose can now spend more time looking for strikers with natural goal scoring ability. In the first of a three part article, here is the first of the three strikers that I believe can help Jose fill the large void left by Didier Drogba.
Luis Suarez was easily the most dazzling performer of the 12/13 season. Some may say it was Gareth Bale, but the Welshman only started firing after Christmas while Suarez was scoring and nutmegging right from the start of the season all the way to the last game he played before his ban (Which was coincidentally against Chelsea). He might not have scored as many as Van Persie but this was due to the ban causing him to miss 4 league games. Van Persie also had a huge goal drought after Christmas which caused people to ask whether he was losing his quality, he then started firing again near the end of the season and overtook Suarez in the Golden Boot race.
I believe Suarez is a striker that is very rare in world football; he likes to be inside the box scoring goals, but you often find him dropping deeper or moving to the wings in order to pick up the ball and cause problems. He isn't a very physical player but he doesn’t need that to leave defenders in his dust. His quality on the ball reminds many of a certain Argentine who plays for Barcelona. Players like Lukaku and Benteke give centre backs conventional physical problems such as being out-muscled or out-paced, but players like Luis Suárez can turn you inside out with their twisty and turny dribbling skills.
This type of striker could give the current group of midfielders a lot to be happy about. Players such as Juan Mata and Oscar seem perfectly suited to a striker that likes to come deep and link up with the play. Also, when Suarez drifts out wide, it gives the two wingers a chance to move inside and create from there. A deadly thought considering that those wingers could be Juan Mata and Eden Hazard. Suarez can also play with the ball launched in front of him, similar to how Torres played in his Liverpool days. With players such as Frank Lampard and Mata to pick him out, the long ball would always be a viable option in a time of need. The only problem that needs to be addressed is his finishing, despite scoring 23 goals in the league; he had a league low 12.3% conversion rate. Something that especially needs to improve when playing against teams in the Champions League where you may only get one or two chances in the entire game.
Suarez could be the missing piece to the jigsaw for Jose Mourinho, and with recent rumours of Brendan Rodgers preparing for life without the Uruguayan international, January will be the perfect time for Chelsea to put a bid in. If he keeps to his recent words about him staying disciplined and avoiding the ugly side of his game, he could be a star in the famous blue shirt.
Source: DSG
