Chelsea MUST continue to recruit in attack despite recent improvement

Even with the arrival of Graham Potter and the improvement in attacking football, Chelsea still need to look at some creators / gems that can make a difference in the midfield and attack. 

Below, we have highlighted some of the best performing and underrated attackers in Europe.

Since the Englishman arrived at the Bridge, Chelsea have created 5.36 in expected goals across four games so far. That may not sound awful, especially since Chelsea scored nine goals from those chances, but it averages out at 1.34 XG p90.

Currently, that would only be good enough for ninth in the XG Premier League table, and is a dip on last seasons statistics. That’s not Potter’s fault, he’s barely got himself through the door, but more of a confirmation to Todd Boehly that a world-class creator is needed at the club.

Here’s a few we have found that could help Chelsea solve this problem, and are realistic purchases for the next six to eight months.

Benjamin Bourigeaud

The oldest name on our list, the 28-year-old Frenchman rose to real prominence last season at Rennes last season when he hit over 20 goals and assists. 

Playing off the right wing in Bruno Génésio’s 4-3-3 system, Bourigeaud’s contract runs out in 2026 and is an integral part of the team. Just Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María were averaging more passes into the box per-90 last season in France, as the midfielder’s vision is superb.

He does take set pieces, but even so, ten of his 11 goals came from inside the box and were split nicely between his head (2) his left foot (2) and right foot (7). He profiles somewhat unique in that sense, being a right-footed player thriving on the right wing. 

The one issue for Chelsea, is that Bourigeaud is not much of a ball carrier. He’s in the bottom 1% of attacking midfielders/wingers for dribbles completed p90, on FBREF across Europe’s big five leagues.

In Chelsea’s squad, no one who has played over two 90s is hitting over two carries p90. One of Chelsea’s problems, all the way since Eden Hazard departed Stamford Bridge, has been a lack of a penalty-box penetrator, someone who can upset a deep block and break through a defence.

In that respect, Bourigeaud falls away. Still, he could be a good option for the Blues, should Hakim Ziyech leave soon. The numbers he’s put up cannot be argued with.

Christopher Nkunku

Unlike anyone else here, we know for near certainty that RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku will be at Stamford Bridge in 12 months time, after the news broke that the Frenchman had signed a pre-contract agreement with the Blues. 

The question is, what will he actually bring to the side? He may have scored over 30 goals in all competitions last season, but that doesn’t mean he will be a centre forward.

Nkunku assisted 13 goals in the Bundesliga last season, and has consistently averaged 0.3 expected assists p90 in Germany. For context, Mason Mount, who many would say is Chelsea’s primary creator, has never averaged above 0.25 XA p90 across a league season.

There are caveats of course, namely that Nkunku has enjoyed the space offered to him in behind from the majority of Bundesliga defences. It’s a large part of how he has built his phenomenal record, exploiting gaps in defences with either passes or intelligent runs.

HIs awareness has improved over 2022, as he was guilty of sometimes failing to get his head up before making a cross or cutback. He’s more ruthless now though, and is much more efficient at picking out his teammates in good positions, and he ticks off the carry-card previously mentioned, being an exceptional dribbler. 

Considering Chelsea already have Aubameyang, Broja and Havertz, it’s conceivable that the 24-year-old was brought in as more of a creator than a finisher. Time will tell, but should that be so, it may be a smart move.

Moussa Diaby

Another echo from the realm of young Bundesliga talent, and yet another Frenchman featured, is Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby who last season, contributed more in the way of assists than all but three Bundesliga players (one of them being Nkunku).

Diaby is a different type of player though, less reserved, stubble, and instead far more direct. He’s one of the quickest players currently operating in Europe. While Nkunku can operate more like a deep lying forward, and Bourigeaud as a wide creator, Diaby is profiled much more as a right winger.

He’s not one to slow the play down and try to execute a lofted pass in behind, but more one to make a one-two with a teammate to power towards goal. It works though, as Diaby also averaged 0.3 XA p90 last season and successfully dribbled past a defender 1.6 times p90.

That particular stat may not seem too impressive, especially when paired against players in the Chelsea squad from last season in Ziyech (2.38) Ruben Loftus-Cheek (2.26) and Mateo Kovacic (1.79). When Diaby passes his man though, it’s in an explosive fashion that usually leaves them for dead. Just check out his MOTM performance recently against Schalke as evidence.

This could be a missing link in Graham Potters team. Having a player able to truly upset a defensive block by bursting through a defence is something Chelsea have lacked since Hazard. The former PSG winger isn’t reliant on space in behind either, as he can accelerate quickly enough to exploit even small gaps in a team.

Knowing the 23-year-old also scored 13 goals in the league last season, Diaby has or is most likely been analysed by Chelsea’s recruitment team. He’s known to be watched over by Liverpool too, and he may be worth purchasing. 

Pedro Gonçalves

Finally, we come to the wildcard on this list, Portuguese forward Pedro Gonçalves who has 20 league assists over the past three seasons alongside 41 goals.

The bulk of those goals came in the 20/21 season, when Ruben Amorin’s Sporting side won the Primeira Liga title as Goncalves hit 23 goals. The 24-year-old hasn’t matched that output since, but he is still nonetheless an interesting player.

He can also operate across the frontline and has done so in a 3-4-3 formation for multiple seasons now. Pitched by the superb English-speaking Portuguese football side Portugoal.com as the Bruno Fernandes replacement at Sporting, Gonçalves likes to try risky passes in behind and has generally good awareness of where his teammates are.

In Sporting’s games in the Champions League, the former Wolves youngster has averaged four shot creating actions p90, which includes the two actions that lead to a shot being taken. It’s a small sample size, but that number would have ranked in the top four of Chelsea’s squad last season.

He’s definitely more of a shot-taker, but his all round play is good enough for him to become more of a creative focused player, especially since Gonçalves is a heavy long-shot taker. Portuguese league players have adapted well to the Premier League recently (see Luiz Diaz, Matheus Nunes..), so picking up Gonçalves for a likely cheap fee may be smart business. 

James Maddison

What better way to support Mason Mount and Chelsea’s attack than sign his direct comparison for England, Leicester City’s James Maddison?

The attacking midfielder, who has also operated at right midfield, has hit five goals and two assists already this season, equating to 0.88 goals and assists p90. For context, if he were to keep that up, he’d end the season on 33 goal contributions.

Of course the Englishman is unlikely to do that: The seemingly unsackable Brendan Rodger’s side still languish at the bottom of the table, and Maddison is wildly outperforming his expected goals and assist numbers.

In fairness, that is partly because there’s few better hits of a dead ball in Europe than the former Norwich youngster. The 25-year-old has scored four Premier League goals from free kicks since September 2020. Chelsea, as a club, have scored just one in that timeframe.

Maddison isn’t reliant on dead ball situations though, with the majority of his output coming from open play. He has a cultured weight of pass, vision beyond his years, and a nice drop of the shoulder to beat defenders in tight scenarios.

As the Foxes go from bad to worse, picking up their leading goal scorer would represent solid business. Should Leicester finish outside the European spots for the second season running, the asking price will likely be achievable too. 

Of course, we haven’t forgot Rafael Leao who would be a fantastic signing for Chelsea and could have even been talked about in recent meetings between Milan officials and Chelsea following the consecutive champions league ties, we will have to wait and see how negotiations go between Leao and AC Milan as talks continue over a new contract but one is led to think with huge teams in Europe chasing your signature, would you really commit your future for the next 5 years in Serie A?