‘Dressing room fights will occur’ – Hasselbaink warns Pochettino against signing £80m star in January
Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has questioned the club’s desire to sign a new striker when the transfer window reopens.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen have both been heavily linked with a transfer to Stamford Bridge but Hasselbaink fears that their arrival at the club could do more harm than good in terms of dressing room morale:
“Chelsea are not scared of the transfer fee but, if you go back into the window and bring in another striker, I don’t think this is the right thing to do for the dressing room. You are going to get an overcrowded dressing room again.”
“You have three strikers already, or someone has to go if you bring in an Osimhen or Toney. This market in January is the hardest to do business.”
After the Blues fluffed their lines in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday night, there will be fresh calls for a new No. 9 to be brought in.
Many feel that Nicolas Jackson is not ready to lead the line at the highest level, while Armando Broja also needs to prove that he can be relied upon to play for long spells without picking up injuries. The lack of a top striker may, therefore, force the club back into the transfer market.
Will Osimhen or Toney join Chelsea?
While the Blues may favour a move for Osimhen, the likelihood of the Nigerian international leaving Napoli in January is very low. It would also require a club-record fee to secure the player’s signature.
For that reason, Mauricio Pochettino’s side will likely pursue Toney instead. Reports suggest that Brentford may sell next month if they receive an offer in the region of £80m for the England forward.