Chelsea should be eyeing an improvement on last season as they aim to return to the Champions League whilst also competing for major trophies.
Mauricio Pochettino was relieved of his duties at the end of the 2023/24 campaign after the Argentine boss failed to lead the team to a top four finish and did not lift a single piece of silverware.
Todd Boehly has brought in Italian boss Enzo Maresca, who won the Championship with Leicester City last term, to replace the former Tottenham Hotspur coach.
He is now tasked with getting the most out of the talented squad at his disposal, whilst there is also over a month left of the transfer window to make further additions to the group.
A new attacker is on the agenda for the London giants after they struggled with their finishing as a collective in the Premier League last season.
The Blues only scored 76 goals from their xG tally of 80.18 in the top-flight and 11 goals from their xG tally of 14.07 in the League Cup, which illustrates how wasteful they were in front of goal.
Chelsea's interest in Premier League marksman
According to Football Insider, Chelsea are preparing a bid to sign England international Ollie Watkins from Premier League rivals Aston Villa this summer.
The report claims that the club want to add a 'marquee' number nine to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch before the end of the transfer window.
It states that, as a result of that desire, they are now willing to push the boat out to secure a deal to sign the English star ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Football Insider adds that Villa and Chelsea have already held extensive talks throughout the summer over different deals, as the Blues had previously been keen on Jhon Duran whilst the Villans tried to sign Connor Gallagher.
The outlet now reveals that the London giants are prepared to offer Gallagher to Unai Emery's side as part of a deal for Watkins, who was at the European Championship with the midfielder for England this summer.
However, it does not state how much Chelsea would be willing to offer in cash alongside the former Crystal Palace loanee, or if Villa are even open to entertaining the idea of such a transfer.
If Boehly and his recruitment team can get a move for Watkins over the line before the end of the window then he would come in as a big upgrade on Nicolas Jackson.
Nicolas Jackson's debut season with Chelsea
The Blues swooped to sign the Senegal international from Villarreal on a permanent deal last summer to lead the line for Pochettino last season.
He ended up enduring a mixed campaign in front of goal for the Premier League giants as he showed plenty of signs of promise whilst also leaving a lot to be desired from his performances overall.
A mixture of his electric movement in the final third and Chelsea's creativity, namely from Cole Palmer, meant that Jackson ended the season with the fifth-highest xG tally in the top-flight at 18.64.
However, the 23-year-old's finishing let him down too often as he was only able to find the back of the net 14 times and missed a staggering 24 'big chances'.
Jackson scored 17 goals and provided six assists in 44 appearances for the Blues in all competitions last term, which shows that he was not a complete flop as the 23-year-old forward still provided a decent goal threat.
Appearances
35
xG
18.64
Big chances missed
24
Goals
14
Assists
5
Big chances created
8
As you can see in the table above, the Senegalese forward was incredibly wasteful with the opportunities that did come his way in the top-flight.
19 goals and assists in a debut season in England for a 23-year-old striker is a fine debut campaign on paper but the underlying numbers suggest that it could, and perhaps should, have been so much better.
His inconsistency in front of goal could be why Chelsea are now looking for a 'marquee' centre-forward signing to lead the line under Maresca next season, and Watkins could be the dream signing to arrive as an upgrade on the ex-LaLiga attacker.
Why Chelsea should sign Ollie Watkins
Firstly, he is a homegrown and proven player who would have a good chance of hitting the ground running due to his experience in the league.
The 28-year-old star has scored 59 goals and provided 26 assists in 146 Premier League appearances for Villa throughout his career, after a return of 45 goals in 132 outings in the Championship.
19 of his top-flight goals came in the 2023/24 campaign under Emery at Villa Park, as the England international enjoyed a terrific year to help his team qualify for the Champions League – finishing above Chelsea in the process.
He ranked within the top 19% of forwards in the division for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.53) and the top 1% for assists per 90 (0.36), which illustrates how impressive his performances were in the league.
Watkins, who scored 27 goals in 53 games in all competitions for his club last term, would come in as a big upgrade on Jackson immediately for Maresca.
Appearances
37
35
xG
16.93
18.64
Goals
19
14
Big chances missed
22
24
Big chances created
11
8
Assists
13
5
As you can see in the table above, the English attacker produced significantly more quality in the final third in comparison to the Chelsea striker.
The former Brentford star, who was hailed as "spectacular" by journalist Ryan Adsett, fired in five more goals despite having less xG created for him by his teammates.
This suggests that Watkins is a far better finisher than Jackson and would, therefore, turn Chelsea's fortunes around in that respect, as they could go from underperforming their xG to overperforming – making the most of Palmer's creativity.
The Villa sensation also created more 'big chances' and assisted more goals than the Senegal international, which means that he could provide more quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
This is why Chelsea must now press ahead and convince the Villans to part ways with the forward as he would be a huge upgrade on Jackson next season.
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