It will be laborious to name Chelsea’s season something aside from a catastrophe at current, as with over half of their Premier League video games now performed, they sit in tenth place and look 1,000,000 miles off of Champions League qualification.
That mentioned, Mauricio Pochettino has guided his facet into the fourth spherical of the FA Cup and to a League Cup semi-final, though they will head into the second leg of that tie 1-0 all the way down to Championship outfit Middlesbrough.
There are many issues with the Blues this 12 months, however one of many primary ones is their frontline’s incapability to place away the first rate quantity of possibilities they’re given.
With this drawback virtually unattainable to not discover, the membership have been linked with plenty of high quality quantity nines this window, together with Brentford’s Ivan Toney, though they might be higher served going after the newest title touted for a transfer to west London: Brighton & Hove Albion’s Evan Ferguson.
Chelsea switch information – Evan Ferguson
In response to the Night Normal, Chelsea are looking out for a brand new striker in 2024, and Brighton’s Irish sensation Ferguson is one in all their targets as they’ve been ‘long-term admirers’ of {the teenager}.
The report has revealed that whereas the curiosity from the Blues is real, so is the need of the Seagulls to maintain maintain of their tremendously thrilling expertise.
This willpower to maintain their budding famous person for a bit longer, mixed together with his new contract that’s set to run till summer season 2029, signifies that if the Pensioners are to signal him this 12 months, it will price no less than £100m, and based mostly on their enterprise with the south coast facet in the summertime, there may be each likelihood it might find yourself being greater than that.
Nevertheless, with the options in Victor Osimhen and Toney set to price simply as a lot, if no more, it may be wiser for Chelsea to signal the a lot youthful Ferguson with the expectation that he could lead on the road for over a decade or be bought on for a good greater price down the road.
Chelsea can neglect about Toney with Ferguson
Now, had been Chelsea to finish up with the Brentford ace as a substitute of Ferguson, it actually would not be the tip of the world, because the Englishman’s unbelievable ending would virtually assure that the Blues would climb up the desk within the second half of the season – having scored 20 league targets final season.
Nevertheless, other than potential, two key components make a transfer for the Brighton man, whom Chris Sutton described as being “as ruthless as they arrive”, extra interesting.
First, for as unbelievable and game-changing as Toney might be, he hasn’t performed any soccer since he was banned for betting offences in Might, and so to count on him to come back in straight away and play at his finest might be fairly naive.
Second, at 27 years outdated, he’s eight years the Irishman’s senior, and whereas 27 just isn’t outdated in trendy soccer, he’ll have considerably much less time to make an impression at Stamford Bridge.
With that mentioned, how do the pair’s underlying numbers examine? Nicely, when evaluating the pair’s output final season – there may be nothing to have a look at for Toney this 12 months – there may be not an terrible lot to select between the 2.
Whereas the previous Newcastle United striker outdoes his competitors in metrics resembling targets scored, targets per shot on course, and aerial duels received per 90, he comes out second finest in quite a few different areas.
|
Evan Ferguson vs Ivan Toney |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats per 90 |
Ferguson |
Toney |
|
Objectives |
0.57 |
0.61 |
|
Non-Penalty Anticipated Objectives + Assists |
0.57 |
0.56 |
|
Progressive Passes |
1.32 |
2.41 |
|
Progressive Carries |
1.04 |
0.43 |
|
Pictures on Goal |
1.61 |
1.01 |
|
Objectives per Shot on Goal |
0.35 |
0.42 |
|
Passing Accuracy |
80.0% |
59.55 |
|
Shot-Creating Actions |
2.08 |
2.01 |
|
Objective-Creating Actions |
0.19 |
0.24 |
|
Profitable Take-Ons |
0.75 |
0.49 |
|
Aerial Duels Received |
0.85 |
3.32 |
|
All Stats by way of FBref for the 2022/23 Home Season |
||
As compared, the “full” Seagulls prospect, as dubbed by expertise scout Jacek Kulig, comes out on high for non-penalty anticipated targets and assists, progressive carries, pictures on course, passing accuracy, shot-creating actions and profitable take-ons per 90.
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On the finish of the day, their numbers show that Chelsea can be dramatically improved with the addition of both striker, however the rustiness that’s certain to be there for Toney and the eight-year age hole simply makes Ferguson seem like the a lot better long-term wager.