{"id":244156,"date":"2026-05-19T13:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/alonsos-answer-to-haaland-chelsea-make-87m-striker-their-top-target\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T13:15:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:15:13","slug":"alonsos-answer-to-haaland-chelsea-make-87m-striker-their-top-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/alonsos-answer-to-haaland-chelsea-make-87m-striker-their-top-target\/","title":{"rendered":"Alonso’s answer to Haaland: Chelsea make \u00a387m striker their top target"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Chelsea<\/a> have been put through the wringer this season – but every cloud has a silver lining, right?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Though the Blues’ hopes of playing in Europe next season (in any capacity) hang in the balance, BlueCo have pulled off a significant coup: hiring Xabi Alonso<\/a> as Chelsea’s new first-team manager.<\/p>\n

Alonso, 43, is one of the most exciting up-and-coming coaches in the world, and his signature came with demands for more control than his Stamford Bridge predecessors have been handed by Todd Boehly.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Chelsea Permanent Managers under Boehly<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

Manager<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Games<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

PPM<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Liam Rosenior<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

23<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.52<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Enzo Maresca<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

92<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.97<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Mauricio Pochettino<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

51<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.78<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Graham Potter<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

31<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.42<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

One decision that the powers that be are in concert over is the need for a free-scoring number nine.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Chelsea make world-class striker their top target<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n

Joao Pedro<\/a> has been named Chelsea’s Player of the Season for 2025\/26. The Brazilian forward has not been named in Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad, but he is unquestionably one of the most dangerous attackers in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

However, he’s not an out-and-out frontman, and with Liam Delap flattering to deceive this season, it’s clear that Alonso is going to want a higher calibre of goalscorer.<\/p>\n

According to Caught Offside<\/a>, Chelsea have made Victor Osimhen<\/a> their priority transfer target in attack this summer, with the Galatasaray striker deemed the perfect pick to elevate this team to the next level.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Reported to have a transfer value of around \u00a387m<\/a>, Osimhen is one of the most valuable strikers in the world, and given that Chelsea have tried to sign him already, the groundwork has already been carried out for someone who could transform this flagging project.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Why Osimhen would be perfect for Chelsea<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n

Osimhen’s career took a left turn in 2024, his illustrious Napoli career in tatters and a dream move to Chelsea having fallen through. His lifeline emerged in Turkey, with Galatasaray taking him on.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old has been immense, scoring 59 goals and supplying 16 assists across 74 matches in all competitions. The Nigerian frontman has impressed in the Super Lig, though his standout performances have been reserved for the Champions League, bagging seven goals across ten matches this term and winning 5.3 duels per game.<\/p>\n

Not just a clinical poacher, Osimhen completed 80% of his dribbles in Europe’s elite competition, emphasising a monstrous ability to piledrive forward and into the danger area, whereupon he strikes and tends to leave the goalkeeper sprawled on the canvas, net rippling.<\/p>\n

There is certainly something Haaland-esque about the 6 foot 1 attacker, who is physical and robust but also fiercely athletic, timing his runs to perfection and shoulder-barging defenders out of his path.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"Galatasaray's\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Whether Chelsea are told to pay the exorbitant \u00a3130m fee that Gala seem to want remains to be seen, but there’s no question that he has the ability to thrive alongside superstars such as Haaland, maybe even eclipsing him as Enzo Maresca attempts to replace the legendary Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.<\/p>\n

For Napoli, he was instrumental in securing their first Scudetto in so many years, and he has been hailed by journalist Matt Barlow in the past as a “world-class<\/a>” goalscorer.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Galatasaray's\n <\/picture>
Galatasaray’s Victor\u00a0Osimhen\u00a0is picture wearing a protective face mask<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Arsenal-focused writer Harvey Diamonds even remarked that Osimhen would be his side’s \u201canswer to Haaland<\/a>\u201d, should they upgrade on Viktor Gyokeres by bringing him to the Emirates this summer. Chelsea cannot let that happen, for they need to bridge the gap on their London rivals.<\/p>\n

Is he quite on Haaland’s level? Perhaps not – but then, who is? The Norwegian has scored any number of goals over the years, and for Guardiola, he has bagged 161 goals and supplied 30 assists across just 197 appearances, winning the full gamut.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"Erling-Haaland-Manchester-City\"\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Haaland is unattainable, but in Osimhen, Chelsea could land the next big thing, a great bid powerhouse of a striker who looks tailor-made for the Premier League.<\/p>\n

Chelsea have already done their homework on this prolific marksman, after all.<\/p>\n

\n


\n \"Diego-Costa-Chelsea\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tHe bullies defenders like Costa: Chelsea surge into race to sign \u00a390m striker
\n\t\t<\/a>
\n\t<\/h5>\n

Chelsea are focusing on strengthening their frontline with a big-money signing this summer. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chelsea have been put through the wringer this season – but every cloud has a silver lining, right? Though the Blues’ hopes of playing in Europe next season (in any capacity) hang in the balance, BlueCo have pulled off a significant coup: hiring Xabi Alonso as Chelsea’s new first-team manager. Alonso, 43, is one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":244157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6808],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-244156","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}