“Could suit the Premier League very well…”: Chelsea send scouts to watch “unbelievable” 10-goal striker

Chelsea want another Strasbourg player. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes)

Chelsea’s season continues to swing from one extreme to the other.

A ruthless 3–0 dismantling of Barcelona in the Champions League briefly suggested Enzo Maresca’s side had found a new level, and their composed display in the 1–1 draw with league-leaders Arsenal only reinforced that optimism.

But the momentum evaporated almost instantly as Chelsea slumped to a disjointed 3–1 defeat to newly promoted Leeds, before being held to a frustrating 0–0 draw by Bournemouth at the weekend.

That stutter has seen the Blues fall to fifth in the Premier League — still within reach of the top four, but a far cry from the control and confidence they showed just a fortnight ago.

Defensively, the collapse at Elland Road rang alarm bells, yet it is the lack of a consistent goalscorer that remains the biggest concern.

Joao Pedro continues to impress in general play but has only four goals in 18 outings, while Liam Delap — who suffered a shoulder injury against Bournemouth — has managed just a single strike all season. With the attack misfiring, Chelsea’s recruitment team has accelerated their search for a reliable number nine.

And now, attention has turned to one standout forward lighting up Ligue 1.

Chelsea have been keeping a close eye on Joaquín Panichelli’s breakout season at Strasbourg, with TEAMtalk reporting that the club has regularly dispatched scouts to monitor his progress.

Panichelli has been one of the revelations of the Ligue 1 campaign, stepping up in the absence of injured captain Emmanuel Emegha and delivering the kind of form that has forced clubs across Europe to take notice.

Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior has described the 23-year-old as “unbelievable”, and the numbers back that up: 10 goals in 19 appearances across all competitions, including a brace away at Paris Saint-Germain and goals against Monaco and Lyon.

His rise has naturally attracted Premier League interest. Transfer insider Dean Jones believes Panichelli “has a profile that could suit the Premier League very well” and has confirmed that Aston Villa, West Ham and Chelsea are all keeping tabs on him.

Thanks to Chelsea’s close working relationship with Strasbourg, the Blues are expected to receive first refusal if the French side decide to cash in — though such a move would almost certainly spark anger among Strasbourg supporters, who are already bracing for Emegha’s future switch to Stamford Bridge.

Should Chelsea opt to move in January, Panichelli could quickly become a leading candidate to solve their goalscoring woes.

With the Blues crying out for a ruthless finisher, Panichelli’s rapid rise may have arrived at exactly the right moment.

Barnaby Lane is a highly experienced sports writer who has written for The Times, FourFourTwo Magazine, Sports Illustrated, TalkSPORT, and Business Insider.

Over the years, he's had the pleasure of interviewing some of the biggest names in world sport, including Usain Bolt, Rafael Nadal, Christian Pulisic, and more.