Chelsea weren’t convinced that Ivan Toney was a big enough upgrade on Nicolas Jackson which is why they didn’t pursue a move for the England international according to Matt Law.
It was another busy summer at Stamford Bridge and whilst plenty of new faces arrived, including the likes of Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix and Pedro Neto, the Blues once again didn’t sign a top class striker.
Chelsea have been looking for a top quality striker for the past 18 months and the expectation was they would land one this summer but they failed to do so.
Chelsea weren’t convinced on Toney
It was no secret the Blues wanted to sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli but despite making multiple proposals to the Nigeria international and waiting right up until the deadline an agreement was unable to be reached.
Much to Chelsea’s likely disappointment Osimhen signed for Galatasaray on loan, although there is a break clause in January which means the Blues could potentially go back in.
What frustrated Chelsea fans was the lack of an alternative plan as it became pretty obvious early on Osimhen wasn’t going to change his demands and the Blues weren’t going to break their wage structure.
There was strong interest in Jhon Duran earlier in the summer which cooled significantly, with the Blues reportedly making a late approach for Toney.
Toney surprisingly had very little interest from the Premier League and eventually joined Saudi side Al-Ahli on a lucrative deal worth a reported £400,000 per week for a fee in the region of £40m.
Many Chelsea fans were surprised the club didn’t seriously pursue the 28-year-old who appeared to be a good fit, but Law has explained why.
“I don’t think Chelsea were ever sold on Toney. I don’t think they believed he was a big enough upgrade on Nicolas Jackson,” he told the London Is Blue Podcast.
Jackson impressed in his first season with 17 goals in all competitions and was rewarded with a new two year contract extension, but it’s still a lot of pressure to put on the 23-year-old to lead the line at such an early stage in his career.