Joe Cole has raised doubts over ’s ability to attract a top class centre forward this summer.
of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday with their inability to convert chances again on show.
Chelsea have now failed to score in their last four matches in all competitions with their top marksmen this season with nine to his name.
The club are likely to make signing a new centre forward a priority this summer with , while the club have also been
Chelsea are set to miss out on Champions League football next season unless they stage a remarkable comeback against Real Madrid with their Premier League top four hopes over, sat 17 points adrift of fourth place Manchester United.
Former Chelsea star Cole believes top strikers across Europe will have major reservations over a move to Stamford Bridge not only due to doubts over European football next season, but also over decision-making at the club.
‘We’re not talking about who do Chelsea get. Who wants to go to Chelsea if they’re playing in the Europa Conference League? We have to be honest,’ Cole told BT Sport.
‘And the owners as well, they’ve come and in and they’ve done what all good owners do: they’ve spent money. You have to praise them for that, they’re good people, they want to do what’s right for the club.
‘But they probably have to look at themselves and go, “Right, who’s advising us on these players? Why have we got nine number 10 wingers when we could have got a number nine?”
‘We don’t know the ins and outs, but the problem lies with the recruitment over the last 12 months I think.
‘You can’t rely on any player to get you 20 goals. No-one in this squad has scored more than 20 goals in a season in their career. So what makes you think they’re going to do that now? That’s the overall problem.
‘The immediate problem is confidence. There’s quality players here who can score goals, but their confidence is low. So that’s up to Frank [Lampard] and his coaching staff to coach that out of them somehow.’
Chelsea do have a deal in place to sign Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig in a deal worth £53million.
The 25-year-old scored 35 goals in all competitions last season, following that up with 17 this season but having seldom operated as a traditional centre forward, former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is not convinced he is the answer.
‘They’ve got Nkunku coming in the summer, but again he’s not an out-and-out number nine. He’s coming up as a young player coming off the wide areas, or playing as a 10 in a free role behind the striker. So the balance in the squad isn’t there.’
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