Chelsea told to sign 'scary' striker who 'fits' Arsenal better amid Nicolas Jackson dip

Chelsea have been told they should consider paying big for an in-demand Premier League striker this month. It has been a tricky few weeks for the Blues, who have fallen away from the title conversation following a run of poor results over the festive period.

Naturally, the Blues were not expected to compete for the title this season, so to a certain extent, there is no harm done, but what will concern Enzo Maresca is the fact Newcastle United have now moved within a point of the top four and Chelsea.

There are a number of reasons Chelsea have been under-par, but they have not been helped by the dip in form suffered by Nicolas Jackson, who has not scored in any of his last four appearances. That has led to calls for the Blues to sign another top-level striker, and former Blue Pat Nevin believes Newcastle’s superstar frontman Alexander Isak should be under consideration.

“I would not be surprised if Chelsea made a huge bid for Alexander Isak this January if they get any sort of hint that he is available,” Nevin told Grosvenor Sport.

“Chelsea would love him. Having said that, I think he would be the best possible fit for Arsenal and if I was him I would be looking at that. Style-wise and technique-wise, can you imagine him playing in front of Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard, it would be scary. Manchester United might also be involved if they hear that he is available, but I can’t imagine how Eddie Howe would feel about letting him go.”

Isak has been heavily linked with Arsenal, but any interested club would have to pay a huge fee to get hold of him, and especially in January. Not only that, but having moved within striking difference of the top four, there would be a premium on any deal involving Chelsea, given a sale to the Blues could wind up costing the Magpies a Champions League spot.

On the plus side for any interested club, Eddie Howe has admitted of Newcastle’s situation: “Nothing was bigger than the previous summer when we had to lose two highly promising young players – we were forced to, we had no choice. That is very much the business taking over from the football. I think we are still in that position.”

Jackson concerns

Speaking about Chelsea’s dip in form, Nevin added: “They were never in title contention in my mind. I was quite bullish in saying I thought they would finish in the top four before the season had started because things ended alright under Mauricio Pochettino last season.

“The maturity of some of the younger players was becoming a bit more obvious and they’ve obviously got some very decent players given the money they have spent. I certainly thought they would be challenging. Enzo Maresca has been right in saying there is still maturing to be done and that his players still need to learn, but their recent form could come down to something as simple as Nicolas Jackson missing his chances. His movement is good but those chances can change the games, it’s not quite as simple as just that but they’d still be cruising if he scored two or three more goals.”