Former Chelsea player Tony Cascarino has been discussing the striker situation at his old club.
Chelsea did not finish last season with too many options up front. In fact, Nicolas Jackson was the only recognised centre-forward in their first-team squad at that point.
Since then, the Blues have been heavily linked with several No.9s. That includes Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez.
Chelsea have kept an eye on Alvarez, but the Blues are yet to make a move for the 24-year-old.
He has been a very good signing for City, helping them to win the treble back in the 2022/23 season. Nevertheless, Cascarino would still pick another striker over him this summer.
Tony Cascarino thinks Chelsea should sign Ivan Toney over Julian Alvarez
It is unlikely that City are going to sell Alvarez during this transfer window. While the Argentine is playing second fiddle to Erling Haaland at the Etihad, he still managed to make over 50 appearances in all competitions last season.
However, even if he were available and Chelsea could sign him, Cascarino still thinks that the Blues should recruit Brentford’s Ivan Toney instead.
He explained why on talkSPORT (21/07/2024 at 08:54), saying: “I would be far more on [Ivan] Toney than [Julian] Alvarez only because I feel Chelsea lack a physical presence in their forward line. They really do.”
Another talkSPORT pundit and former Chelsea player, though, has his doubts about a move being viable. Jason Cundy can’t see Chelsea’s owners wanting to sign Toney because of his age.
Chelsea more likely to sign Ivan Toney than Julian Alvarez
To reiterate, City will be reluctant to part ways with Alvarez this summer, even if the Argentina international did not start every game last season.
Brentford, on the other hand, are in a position where they could be forced to sell Toney.
The 28-year-old has entered the final 12 months of his contract. So if he does not sign a new one, then the Bees are at risk of losing him for nothing in the 2025 summer transfer window.
However, it was recently claimed that Chelsea aren’t thinking about signing Toney right now.
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