Chelsea have spent £172million to bring in six new attackers in the last six months and the Blues are still yet to see major positive changes over their attacking output. Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were acquisitions made in the summer before David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke were all purchased in the January transfer window.
Only seven teams have scored less goals in the Premier League this season, hence the Blues' significant attacking purchases. The summer duo of Sterling and Aubameyang looked set to soften any goal scoring woes given their past experience as notorious goal scorers in England's top flight for Manchester City and Arsenal, respectively.
However, while both have been able to find the back of the net in this campaign each have enjoyed purple patches of form. Injuries have hampered Sterling's game time, while Aubameyang looks set to be frozen out of the squad after a number of poor displays pre and post-World Cup.
Potter's current stance on Aubameyang was perhaps best showcased by his decision to take the 33-year-old out of Chelsea's Champions League squad. The four new arrivals are understandably yet to make a lasting impact given they have all been at the club for less than a month, however all four have shown signs of their quality.
Mudryk's debut cameo against Liverpool was impressive to say the least with Madueke and Felix also showing flashes of quality in their first appearances, however the latter's was marred by his red card. Felix will make his long-awaited return to a Chelsea matchday squad this weekend when the Blues face West Ham.
Despite signing seven new players in January with Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku set to arrive ahead of the 2023/24 season, a new goalkeeper, central defender, midfielder and striker are on the priority list for the summer.
Sterling, Mudryk and Madueke can all be considered natural wingers and while another body joining that department of the squad is unlikely, an opportunity surrounding a current Premier League wide man in a rich vein of form could become too great for Chelsea to pass up.
Brighton star Kaoru Mitoma is attracting numerous headlines for his recent performances with winning goals against Liverpool in the FA Cup and Bournemouth over the weekend following goals against Leicester, Everton and Arsenal.
The Seagulls lost Leandro Trossard to Arsenal in the winter window, but Mitoma, who has been his replacement, has settled in seamlessly after completing a move to the south coast in 2021 for £2.7m from Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale. Stan Collymore has now explained why Chelsea should be looking at signing Mitoma in the summer where a bargain deal for the quality he offers could be available.
In his CaughtOffside column, he wrote: "His ability is there for all to see so I’d be amazed if, come the end of the season, some of the bigger teams weren’t making offers for him.
"He isn’t going to command a huge fee. He’ll have two years left on his deal and he was bought for virtually nothing, so from a commercial point of view, even a £30m offer, which would be over a 500 per cent return on investment in just 12 months, would be too good for Brighton to turn down. And, as we all know, that kind of deal is something Chelsea’s new owner would lick his lips at."
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