Thauvin bid or trigger Lyon clause? How Chelsea could land Sarri a false No.9 next month

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Things are looking fairly promising for Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri this season.

The Blues are currently fourth in the Premier League and secured safe passage into the last-32 of the Europa League, unbeaten in their six group games.

With Sarri came his patented ‘Sarrismo’ style of play, utilising the ability of summer signing Jorginho as well as exploiting the left-hand side. It is something from which Eden Hazard has been profiting.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing with some weak points in Chelsea’s squad, the weakest arguably being their forward spot.

Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud are the contenders for that spot and have had a largely equal share of the time on the pitch, both given ample opportunities to stake their claim.

However, neither really look suitable for Sarrismo. Morata, despite his seven goals in all competitions, looks void of any confidence and still struggles to keep up with the physical nature of English football. Meanwhile, Giroud lacks the pace Chelsea need to make their quick breaks, despite his valuable hold-up play and strength.

In the recent win over Manchester City, Sarri combatted this by playing Hazard as a false nine to some effect, as the Belgian set up both of Chelsea’s goals. But Hazard has spoken of his unhappiness with playing in a false nine role, leaving Sarri with only one other option: dipping into the January transfer market.

But who should he look to, to fill his false nine void, should he wish to switch away from a conventional striker?

Dream: Dries Mertens

Sarri’s use of the false nine in his system came as a result of injury problems ruling out Arkadiusz Milik at Napoli. With his first-choice centre-forward out, Sarri looked to winger Dries Mertens as the answer, converting him into a false nine with much success.

As a centre-forward alone, Mertens scored 51 goals during Sarri’s spell as Napoli manager and has continued to play that way under new boss Carlo Ancelotti, often keeping Milik out of the team.

But, with 18 months left on his current deal at Napoli, the Belgian has been linked with a move away from the club, and a reunion with Sarri looks on the cards.

These rumours were fueled even further by Mertens himself, saying: “I love it here. But maybe in one year, I’m free, so maybe you never know, maybe Sarri is going to call me. We will see.”

The initial talks would lead more to a summer move for Mertens, but should the right offer come in in January, the reunion with Sarri could come a lot sooner.

Though not yet tested in the Premier League, Mertens has the quality Sarri needs with pace on and off the ball, good finishing and also creativity to link up with Hazard, Willian and Pedro.

In Serie A so far this season, the Belgian has scored seven goals from 35 shots on goal while also recording four assists. In contrast, Morata has five goals and no assists in the Premier League while Giroud has one goal and four assists.

In addition, following new rules implemented by Uefa, Mertens would be able to play for Chelsea in the knockout stages of the Europa League, despite Napoli also featuring.

Realistic: Florian Thauvin

While a ready-made false nine would be the best bet for Chelsea, another option could be to get a new winger and convert him – with Hazard unwilling.

One potential option would be Marseille’s Florian Thauvin, who has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in recent weeks, according to Calcio Mercato.

Thauvin, playing predominantly of the right for Marseille, has been in good form over the past 18 months, helping the French side reach the final of the Europa League last season in addition to a fourth-place finish with 26 goals in all competitions.

And the Frenchman has carried that over to the new campaign, with 13 goals in 18 games so far including 11 in Ligue 1 – only behind Kylian Mbappe and Emiliano Sana (12) in the race to be top scorer.

Like Mertens, the characteristics are there with good dribbling and hold up play, while also showing his ability to score despite others having more attacking roles in a squad.

The risk with Thauvin is he has only been used as a centre-forward once during his career, in Marseille’s Europa League game against Lazio, which they lost 2-1, though Thauvin did score.

Thauvin has also struggled in England previously, during his two-year spell with Newcastle United scoring just one goal in his first six months before being loaned to Marseille for the next season-and-a-half.

But, with the right manager, at the right club, Thauvin could prove a good choice.

Wildcard: Tammy Abraham

While Tammy Abraham is the most conventional striker on the list, his playing style is still similar to that of a false nine. And, of course, he would be the cheapest option.

With neither Morata or Giroud truly fulfilling Sarri’s wishes, a lot of Chelsea fans have expressed their hopes of a recall for Abraham, who is currently out on loan at Aston Villa.

After enjoying a pre-season with Chelsea, it had initially looked as though Abraham would be getting a chance this season, especially after Michy Batshuayi went out on loan to Valencia.

But the 21-year-old returned to the Championship, where he has found confidence once more, after a poor spell with Swansea City.

Which is not to say Abraham’s disappointing Swansea loan was entirely on him. The Swans’ system was not right for a player of Abraham’s style as the forward likes to drift in from wider positions and is more than happy to share the limelight with fellow attackers.

That’s why Abraham has excelled under Dean Smith at Villa, building a good partnership with Jack Grealish, who has been pushed into a more attacking role, while still scoring 11 goals in 15 Championship games.

Abraham’s hold-up play does still need some improving, but that will only come with age and hard work, something which can happen under Sarri.

There may be a speed bump in a return, however, as it depends on whether Chelsea have implemented a recall clause into the loan deal. Furthermore, Villa have also expressed their wishes of keeping Abraham until the end of the season.

Squawka Suggests: Bertrand Traore

Another possible option would be to bring Bertrand Traore back from Lyon and finally give him a chance in the Chelsea first-team.

Traore officially joined Chelsea as an 18-year-old in 2013 and went straight into their academy before signing a professional contract at the start of 2014. The exciting, young winger was almost immediately sent out on loan to Vitesse, due to work permit issues, spending the next 18 months in the Netherlands.

The Burkina Faso international managed to get some game time for Chelsea during the 2015/16 season, in which he scored five goals in 16 games but was sent out on loan again the following year before being sold to Lyon in 2017.

But the Blues reportedly have a buy-back clause for Traore, meaning they may be able to bring the winger back to Stamford Bridge at a potentially lower cost.

And it could be worth exercising the reported clause, with Traore playing exciting football with Lyon as part of their dynamic attacking quartet.

Though Traore has played predominantly on the wing for Lyon, the 23-year-old has played as a centre-forward, including towards the end of last season, scoring in five consecutive Ligue 1 matches leading the line.

Traore also played as a centre-forward in many of his games for Chelsea, including in three of his four starts during the 2015/16 season.

After leaving Chelsea in 2017, Traore admitted he had to do so for the good of his career, but now it might be time for a return.

The post Could Chelsea sign a ‘false No.9’ this January? Dream, realistic, wildcard & Squawka Suggests options appeared first on Squawka News.



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