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Maurizio Sarri’s start to life in the Premier League has exceeded the expectations of supporters, yet there’s a collective understanding that the Blues are still lacking a couple of top-tier additions before they can be considered as genuine title challengers once more. The need for striking reinforcement has been discussed at great length, and with the January transfer window fast approaching, it’s timely to address Chelsea’s potential options.

Collectively, Morata and Giroud have scored 12 goals in all competitions this term, but only six of those goals have been scored in the league. Accordingly, the Blues need a reinforcement in the striking department, but who should Chelsea pursue in the new year?

As has been established, goals have been comparatively scarce in the league this season, especially for a team that flaunts such high ambitions and a squad laden with quality players. With this in mind, Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi is one option that could address the FA Cup holders’ need for goals in attack.

One of the most difficult aspects of the January transfer wndow is identifying targets who are of sufficient quality to augment a team, and are available for purchase, and seemingly, the Argentine striker ticks both of these boxes. Wife Wanda Nara has revealed the Inter captain is far from agreeing a new deal with the Serie A club - Tika Taka via CalcioNapoli24 - which suggests that he would be willing to depart in January.

A player of the 25-year-old’s calibre would be of tremendous benefit to Chelsea. Since joining Inter Milan at the start of the 2013-14 season, the striker has amassed 120 goals in 201 appearances for Internazionale, an average of a goal every 1.7 appearances. By contrast, at Chelsea, Morata is averaging a ratio of a goal every 3.1 games, and Giroud has an average of a goal every 3.7 games. If Icardi were to emulate similar statistics in the Premier League, it would denote a significant increase in goal contributions for the Blues.

Similarly, Icardi has perfected the craft of scoring goals in volume on a continuous basis. In three of his five full seasons at Milan, the 25-year-old has scored more than 20 goals in all competitions (27 goals in the 2014-15 season, 26 goals in the 2016-17 season, and 29 goals in the 2017-18 season).

The highest total of goals that Morata has scored in a single season is 20 goals, and he has only achieved that once during his professional career. Further, the last time that Giroud scored more than 20 goals in a season was three years ago in the 2015-16 campaign.

In contemporary football, many claims have been made about at the perceived lack of leadership and character at several prestigious clubs. The arrival of Inter Milan’s captain would most certainly provide Sarri’s side with greater leadership while providing a consistent source of goals.

In addition to his impressive statistics, the striker is technically adept, and in recent seasons has illustrated his ability to contribute with a more profound defensive input. Sarri prides his teams on hunting and harassing opponents for the ball, and it’s expected the same would be asked of Icardi if he were to join the club.

Stylistically, Icardi resembles a highly-technical poacher. The 25-year-old is utterly ruthless in the penalty area and is equally competent with either foot or with his head. For a style that places critical emphasis on ball retention and the creation of goal-scoring chances, Icardi would seemingly be at ease with the Blues.

So far this season, the Argentinian forward has scored 13 goals in 19 games for Inter Milan, more goals than Giroud and Morata have scored between them. Resultantly, the Blues should do everything in their power to lure the striker away from Italy.

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