Chelsea still suffering from striker jinx as goals remain a problem for Pochettino

Big-spending Premier Leauge club have seen a parade of forwards arrive and depart, while the future of Lukakau remains an issue

The injury to summer signing Christopher Nkunku was a body-blow for Chelsea. AFP

Of all the blunt truths learnt by Chelsea’s new owners since they took control of the club 16 busy months ago, here’s the sure-fire one: cast off an expensive striker and he will immediately find top form wherever he goes.

Far less certain is that Chelsea’s extravagant recruiters will improve the squad with their choice of replacement goalscorer.

It took Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang two minutes of his first home start for Olympique Marseille, OM, to score his first goal for the latest of his many clubs, in last week’s Uefa Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos.

Aubameyang signed for Chelsea from Barcelona on transfer deadline day last summer. He had left for the South of France within 11 months. He already has twice as many goals – two – as an OM player as he managed in an entire Premier League campaign at Chelsea.

Aubameyang cost around €12 million. He left for free. Christian Pulisic this summer joined AC Milan in July for some €20 million, less than a third of the price Chelsea paid Borussia Dortmund for the American in 2019. True to routine, Pulisic netted a spectacular goal 21 minutes into his Milan debut, at Bologna last weekend.

These are not one-offs. Rewind 12 months and Romelu Lukaku, who had just started a loan spell from Chelsea back at his former club, Inter Milan, was scoring within two minutes of his second Inter debut; the same weekend, Timo Werner, sold back – at a €25 million loss – by Chelsea to RB Leipzig was re-debuting in Germany with a goal.

A year on, Lukaku finds himself impatient to see if he can again be part of this long catalogue of instantly renewed ex-Blues.

His loan at Inter over, he is still on the staff at Chelsea, who paid €113 million for him two summers ago, but keen to find a fresh home. His high salary, and Chelsea’s need for a fee are obstacles for potential buyers, but there is little enthusiasm in the executive hierarchy at Stamford Bridge to retain him.

West Ham 3 Chelsea 1: Player ratings

WETS HAM RATINGS: Alphonse Areola 8: Rescued by VAR offside call when keeper recklessly took down Jackson in 10th minute. Good penalty save from Fernandez just before half-time and another fine stop on deflected Madueke shot late on. Getty

Emerson 5: Couldn’t live with Sterling’s pace, particularly in first half, and was booked for really poor challenge on England attacker that looked even worse on replays. AFP

Kurt Zouma 7: Hammers captain, up against his former club, found the pace and trickery of Jackson a real handful at times. Sent clearance straight to Chukwuemeka ahead of his leveller for Chelsea. Enjoyed a much improved second half. EPA

Nayef Aguerd 5: Headed West Ham into early lead from Ward-Prowse corner and then picked up game’s first booking for pulling back Sterling. Rightly sent-off in second half for late challenge on Jackson with nearly 25 minutes still to go. PA

Vladimir Coufal 6: Mixed game for Czech down right. Caught out by some Chilwell runs in first half and the same with Mudryk in second but stuck to task and never let head go down. AFP

Tomas Soucek 5: Left with head in hands after being skinned by the quick feet of Chukwuemeka ahead of Chelsea’s opener, then his clumsy challenge on Sterling led to the penalty which Fernandez missed. EPA

James Ward-Prowse 7: New boy went straight into the starting XI and his second corner of game set up Aguerd’s headed opener after his first moments earlie had caused chaos in Chelsea box. Supplied pass for Antonio before big striker made it 2-1. EPA

Lucas Paqueta 7: Brazilian was booked for dissent but then almost put West Ham 2-1 up in first half when his low shot on the stretch clipped outside of post. Embarrassing fall to floor after push in chest by Gallagher in second half. Confidently stepped up to score late penalty. Reuters

Said Benrahma 6: Algerian would have been relieved to see linesman’s flag go up when he fired chance wide after being put through early in second half. Scuffed another shot wide of target just after the hour mark. Sacrificed for defender after Aguerd’s red card. Getty

Jarrod Bowen 6: Scored cracking goal against Bournemouth last weekend but offered little threat in first half, which was more to do with poor service than the fault of Bowen. Struck shot from distance straight at keeper after linking up well with Fornals late in game. Reuters

Michail Antonio 8: Totally isolated in first half when he only touched the ball only five times. His stunning finish in the 53rd minute came out of nowhere as the supply line to him had been so poor. Held ball up well when passes did actually reach him and received standing ovation when substituted late on. Getty

SUBS: Angelo Ogbonna (On for Benrahma 70’) 7: Brought on to shore up defence after team went down to 10 men and did exactly what was required. Getty

Pablo Fornals (On for Antonio 78’) N/A. Lively cameo from Spaniard. PA

Edson Alvarez (On for Ward-Prowse 81’) N/A. Debut for new signing. PA

CHELSEA RATINGS: Robert Sanchez 6: No chance with Aguerd goal, as West Ham defender had been given free header, or Antonio’s brilliant finish for second and sent wrong way by Paqueta penalty for third. EPA

Axel Disasi 6: Scored debut goal last week but no such joy this week as he picked up first-half booking here for clumsy foul on Antonio and saw Antonio’s finish fly through his legs for Hammers’ second goal. AFP

Levi Colwill 7: Certainly not short of confidence going forward and he regularly found himself in attacking positions, firing one shot wide of target in the second half. Sound defensively as well until being brushed off by Antonio ahead of striker’s superb finish. Getty

Thiago Silva 8: Immaculate against Liverpool last week and impressive again here and must be wondering how he finished on the losing side. Helped team barely give Antonio a kick in the first half only for striker to thump home wonder goal in second. Getty

Malo Gusto 6: Made his debut in pace of injured captain Reece James, and helped cause West Ham problems down the right in opening half and little problems against a West Ham attack that enjoyed little possession. Kept Benrahma’s influence to a minimum. Getty

Ben Chilwell 6: Captain’s inch-perfect cross picked out Jackson for early chance but striker headed over. Should have scored in first-half stoppage time but could only hit shot straight at defender after fine work from Sterling. Hooked after an hour. EPA

Lesley Chukwuemeka 8: Teenager scored first senior goal of his career when he left Soucek for dead before curling home finish. Booked for foul on Emerson. But picked up knock just before break and had to be helped off the pitch by Chelsea’s medical staff with game coming to a cruel end. Reuters

Conor Gallagher 6: Weak defending allowed Aguerd free header for Hammers’ early goal. Struck swerving shot from edge of box parried away by keeper. Usual tireless running in Chelsea's engine room. Getty

Enzo Fernandez 7: Argentine starting to look the part for Chelsea as helped side dominate possession. Superb through ball put Jackson clear but striker had been caught narrowly offside. Missed a penalty which was hit at good height for keeper to save. Getty

Raheem Sterling 8: His pace and driving runs saw him rip through West Ham’s defence at will in opening 45 minutes, and earned Chelsea a penalty when one of the runs resulted in him being chopped down by Soucek. AFP

Nicolas Jackson 7: Thought he had won Chelsea early penalty but had been caught offside before Areola took him down. Headed good opportunity over bar not long after. Young striker looks a handful but needs a goal. AFP

SUBS: Mykhailo Mudryk (On for Chukwuemeka 46’) 5: Ukrainian made a few darting runs forward but miscued volley when presented with great chance late on. Has yet to score since moving to club and the £88m tag is still a long, long way off being justified. Getty

Moises Caicedo (On for Chilwell 60’) 4: Big-money buy from Brighton came on for his debut and volleyed chance high and wide from outside box moments after coming on. Awful challenge on Emerson gave away late penalty. Getty

Noni Madueke (On for Gallagher 75’) 6: Almost made score 1-1 when his deflected shot forced good save out of Areola. EPA

Besides, high turnover is now a habit. The parade of forwards into the club has been hectic in the last three transfer windows, running from Aubameyang to David Datro Fofana, now moved on to Union Berlin, and through to the combined €300 million spent on Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson.

Yet impotence in attack is a persistent issue. Chelsea finished the last Premier League campaign with a mere 38 goals, at an average of one per game.

So far this season, new manager Mauricio Pochettino has yet to raise that standard, and after a 1-1 draw with Liverpool, and a 3-1 defeat to West Ham, he takes on newly-promoted Luton Town on Friday seeking his first competitive victory in charge.

The injury to summer signing Christopher Nkunku was a body-blow for Chelsea. AFP

The goals so far on Pochettino’s watch have come from a defender, Axel Disasi and the midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, whose name has been swiftly added to the long medical bulletin the manager was obliged to list yesterday.

Just as reliable as ex-Chelsea strikers making an immediate impact elsewhere in Europe is that those earmarked to replace them are bound to be struck by injury.

“For sure it is bad luck,” said Pochettino, listing the cases of Chukwuemeka – out for “weeks” said the manager – and various attacking players.

Nkunku represents the biggest single blow, the knee injury he sustained in pre-season, following his €60m signing from Leipzig, requiring months of recuperation.

Armando Broja, the promising club-reared striker, out since December, is, reports the manager, “close but the last step after injury is difficult.” Nor, Pochettino confirmed, is Mudryk fit for the Luton game.

Former Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring against Panathinaikos in the Champions League qualifier. AP

“We need a little bit of help now,” admitted Pochettino, while praising Sterling and backing Jackson, the 22-year-old Senegal international for whom Chelsea paid Villarreal close to €40 million. And, yes, admitted Pochettino the big-spenders of West London are scouring the market for yet another striker.

“We are trying to find the right profile, talking about one offensive player, but not just to bring in players [who would] stop the evolution [development] of young guys. If you bring in a player that needs to adapt, you are going to create a mess in the squad.”

As it is, there is a mess to resolve in Lukaku’s limbo. He and Pochettino are not in dialogue about any role he might yet have in filling the striker gap or making up the goalscoring deficit. The club’s owners would like to move him on and Lukaku wants to spend the season elsewhere.

“With Romelu, the situation was really clear – the wish between player and club was to find a solution,” said Pochettino. “The situation has not changed.”