Michael Owen blasts 'toothless' Chelsea for splashing cash without signing striker - 'One of the biggest mysteries'
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 18/04/2023 at 21:27 GMT
Michael Owen described Chelsea's ability to spend more than £500 million on new players without bringing in a goalscorer as "one of the biggest mysteries of all time". The Blues have struggled to find the net this season despite a huge outlay on new recruits in two transfer windows. Chelsea went scoreless again as they failed to claw back a 2-0 deficit against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
'Best counter-pressing game we've played all season' - Klopp on Liverpool thrashing Leeds
Chelsea’s inability to sign a goalscorer despite splashing hundreds of millions in the transfer market is "one of the biggest mysteries of all time", according to Michael Owen.
The Blues have struggled to convert chances throughout the 2022/23 campaign, mustering just 30 goals in 31 Premier League games.
Kai Havertz is their top scorer with nine goals, despite a Blues spending splurge in the summer and winter markets in which they spent around £600 million on new recruits.
They desperately needed to find a way to goal on Tuesday when they faced Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, but they were unable to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit, losing 2-0 again to go down 4-0 on aggregate.
Speaking on BT Sport, Owen said: “It’s one of the biggest mysteries of all time – how can you spend £500m and hardly bring a player in who’s going to influence the goalscoring department?
“They look so toothless in front of goal, they don’t look like scoring.
“[Manchester City striker] Erling Haaland has scored four or five more goals than the entire [Chelsea] team this season. It’s incredible for a team like Chelsea to not have someone who is banging them in on a regular basis.
“But tonight it has to be different. I don’t know where they’re going to come from, but they have to come from somewhere.”
Under the new ownership of Todd Boehly this season, Chelsea have had three managers, sacking Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter before re-appointing former boss Frank Lampard earlier this month.
But Rio Ferdinand said decisions off the field contributed to the team ending up in this mess.
“It’s a lack of confidence and that’s before Frank came in the door,” Ferdinand said.
“But also the transfer window and their recruitment, they bought wingers. They’ve got six or seven wingers in this squad and they haven’t got a number nine.”
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article