Since Romelu Lukaku’s £97.5 million deal to Chelsea failed and he only made 44 appearances during his second stay with the Blues, scoring 15 goals and dishing just one assist, Chelsea has been searching for its prolific number nine.

Since then, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter have frequently used Kai Havertz as a striker, but Pierre Emerick-Aubamayang and David Datro Fofana have not performed as expected.With a combined total of 17 goals in 2024–2025, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, and Marc Guiu remain the only viable alternatives.

How the key strikers for Chelsea compareJackson has scored six goals and contributed three assists in 901 minutes since beginning the season as Enzo Maresca’s starting striker. The new manager has a lot of faith in him because of his all-around performance, ability to manage the channels, and dedication to the team—especially when compared to Nkunku.

With 17 appearances, 10 goals, and 1 assist in 688 minutes, the France international has continued to be used well this season, beginning cup tournaments and coming off the bench in Premier League games.A hard-working center-forward who is a threat to defenders and tries to press from the front to win the ball back in the opposition half, Guiu, who was purchased from Barcelona this summer for a mere £5 million, has only scored once in his seven games.

With a higher shooting volume, more goals per 90, and a higher xG created per 90, the numbers above demonstrate Nkunku’s quality both inside and beyond the box. The Frenchman has great movement to match his instincts in risky situations and is a clinical finisher.

The Senegal international gives Chelsea a genuine presence while running the channels, persistently making runs and being a problem for defenders, linking play and then driving forwards, even though Nkunku outperforms Jackson in several of these categories according to 90.