Alan Shearer feels that Chelsea’s recruitment strategy had a role to play in their Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool.
The Blues couldn’t find a way past Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher at Wembley and wasted a number of huge opportunities with the best of them falling to Conor Gallagher, who hit the post and Cole Palmer.
Christopher Nkunku, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke were unable to make any meaningful impact from the bench as the Stamford Bridge outfit once again looked toothless in the final third.
Shearer didn’t hold back on his thoughts of Chelsea’s front line and said on The Rest Is Football podcast: “I thought, doesn’t it typify what’s happened or happening at Chelsea? They just haven’t got someone to put the ball in the back of the net.”
“They created the chances, and we’ve been saying it most of the season. They’ve spent an absolute fortune. Can you imagine, you’re in the dressing room and see the team sheet come through and today lads, there is no Salah, no Jota, Nunez, Trent, Alisson, Szoboszlai. You’d think ‘This is our opportunity’ and they couldn’t. They failed to take it.”
“There is nothing unlucky about missing chances. If you create them, you’ve got to put them in the back of the net. When you spend that much dough on players and you haven’t got a top centre-forward, you’ve only got yourselves to blame.”
The Blues will be desperate to bring in a top class centre forward who can find the back of the net on a regular basis this summer to help solves their issues in front of goal.
They have been heavily linked with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen with Ivan Toney and Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres also on their shortlist.
Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping his forwards have their shooting boots on when Leeds visit Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday night.
