£1.5bn spent & no striker in sight – how did Chelsea get here?

Before Friday’s Premier League game against Brighton, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said they “need to find something different” without a genuine centre-forward currently available.

After being thumped 3-0 while failing to muster a shot on target, presumably the Italian is still searching.

Despite spending more than £1.5bn since the Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly takeover went through less than three years ago, a recent injury crisis has left Chelsea’s squad looking remarkably threadbare – none more so than up front.

How have Chelsea ended up with no fit strikers to call upon and how do they solve their problems in attack?

More than £1.5bn spent – so where are all the strikers?

Chelsea have signed a lot of attacking players since the takeover.

The Blues have forked out £445m on forwards – but aside from a now-injured Nicolas Jackson none have proved to be a high-quality number nine.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang was signed for former manager Thomas Tuchel at a cost of £12m from Barcelona, but the veteran was frozen out soon after the German was sacked following a 100-day review from the ownership without a chance to prove his worth. He went on to score goals for Marseille in a sensational season in France before moving to Saudi Arabia.

The only other central strikers signed were David Datro Fofana, Deivid Washington and Marc Guiu, all young players at a combined cost of just £34m. None have looked ready for the Premier League, never mind the level required to meet the expectations at Chelsea.

The majority of that £445m went on Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Cole Palmer – all predominantly wingers or number 10s.

And only Palmer has produced on a consistent basis, having been involved in a league-high 39 goals (26 goals and 13 assists) in 2024.

Felix remarkably commanded an eye-watering £10m loan fee during his initial spell from Atletico Madrid in 2023, before he re-joined the club on a permanent basis for £45m last summer. He is now on loan at AC Milan.

What forwards do they actually have available?

Jackson has been ruled out for around six weeks with a hamstring injury.

The 23-year-old came off injured against West Ham two weeks ago and, although manager Maresca was initially hopeful the Senegal striker had avoided a major setback, scans have since revealed the problem to be much worse.

Fellow striker Guiu, a 19-year-old who has yet to start a Premier League game, is also out injured for a period of “weeks or months” after sustaining a groin problem against the Hammers.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Mudryk has been suspended for allegedly testing positive for a banned substance.

To compound Chelsea’s misery, Noni Madueke seemed to pull his hamstring while setting up a big chance for Palmer at Brighton and went straight down the tunnel for treatment after coming off. Maresca said afterwards that “he will be out for a while”.

That all meant Chelsea’s last three fit senior forwards were all on the pitch after Madueke’s substitution – Palmer, Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho – with academy winger Tyrique George the only attacking option able to come on in the second half.

How has Maresca tried to solve the problem?

Maresca already hinted at changing his tactics for the game at Brighton because of Nkunku’s struggles playing up front.

The France international has been in poor form and has scored just one goal in 11 league matches in all competitions.

He opted to move Nkunku away from the number nine position, where he struggled in the FA Cup tie with Brighton six days ago, effectively swapping positions with Palmer.

But the new gameplan was disrupted by the injury to Madueke, which left Chelsea with just one player in Neto who could run in behind.

As a result, the visitors were left with lots of the ball – but with no real goal threat.

They completed 648 passes and had 69.4% possession at Amex Stadium but were unable to force Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen into a save.

Speaking after the match, Maresca told BBC Sport: “It is difficult when you don’t have a proper number nine. In the last third we struggled doing things that until a week or two ago we were doing well.

“This is the worst moment since I arrived but we are still there and we need to finish in the best way.”

It was a similar story in that FA Cup game, with the Blues again dominating possession and completing more passes than their opponents but on that occasion having just one shot on target.

Chelsea’s best hope is finding a way to improve Nkunku’s level – but without hurting Palmer, who is also starting to decline after disrupting his excellent partnership with Jackson.

Either way, in reality, for all the money spent Maresca is simply short of options.

What’s going on with Palmer?

Palmer has failed to score in four successive Premier League games for Chelsea for the first time since joining in the summer of 2023.

Despite the recent lean spell, however, his overall record this season is still strong.

He has scored 14 goals and provided six assists and should still be on course to match the 22 goals he managed in 2023-24.

While he has continued to churn out the numbers, though, he has been used in a slightly different – more central – role throughout this campaign under Maresca compared to previous manager Mauricio Pochettino.

In his pre-match interview the Chelsea manager described Palmer as “more a linking player”.

He would have hoped by playing him down the middle at Brighton – albeit this time without a central striker ahead of him – he would be able to drop deeper and feed the wide players running beyond him.

His passing map against Brighton shows how much he drifted across Chelsea’s forward line in an attempt to influence the game, but for large parts he cut a frustrated figure.

“Football is a team, it’s not tennis,” said Maresca when asked about Palmer’s recent lack of goals.

“It’s not only Cole Palmer. We are all the same in this moment.”