Alvaro Morata had a dream start to his Chelsea career after scoring 8 goals and setting up 2 more for the club in his first few matches. Chelsea’s record signing from Real Madrid had hit the ground running and proved himself to be an able replacement for Diego Costa.
Morata’s red-hot form last year for club and country helped him rack up 10 goals in the early part of the season. This included a weekend hat-trick against Stoke in the Premier League followed up by a commanding display in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Atletico bagging a goal in the process.
Morata hit an unfortunate snag in the middle against City when he limped off in the 35th minute clutching his left hamstring. Conte’s decision to snub Michy Batshuayi, who is a direct replacement for Morata and introduce Willian instead, showed his lack of faith in Chelsea’s back-up striker.
Batshuayi despite scoring 10 goals this season has not shown the consistency Conte demands and the Italian’s decision to rebuff the striker for the City match exposed Chelsea’s lack of options up front while in crisis. Chelsea is already 15 points off the pace in the title race and has to buckle down from here onwards if they want to finish in a Champions League spot come May. With so many important matches coming up, Chelsea needs to hit the ground running and Conte needs an alternative for Morata especially with the Blues still alive in all four competitions.
Resultantly, Chelsea’s hunt for a striker this January has now seen them get linked with Burnley forward Ashley Barnes. The winter window has allowed Chelsea to redeem their mistakes from the summer when they failed to add adequate numbers to their squad to challenge for all trophies in Europe.
With the Blues desperate to add another striker, reports have seen them get linked with some truly bizarre rumours. West Ham United’s Andy Carroll, Tottenham Hotspur’s Fernando Llorente and AS Roma’s Edin Dzeko have all been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge. The latest frontman to join the rumour mill is Burnley forward Ashley Barnes. It is being reported that the Blues are seeking to negotiate a deal for the 28-year old.
The Englishman has scored just four goals in 26 matches for the Clarets this season, although most of those appearances have come from the bench. The 28-year-old has made just eight starts for Burnley meaning that he is not high up Sean Dyche’s priority list and should Chelsea come calling for him, they do not have to spend a fortune on him.
