Rated: Chelsea strikers of the past decade as Gonzalo Higuain closes in on loan move

We rate the success of the likes of Fernando Torres and Radamal Falcao ahead of Higuain's potential arrival in London

Andriy Shevchenko: One of the most highly-regarded strikers in Europe after a fine spell at AC Milan. Left Chelsea with his reputation in tatters. Nine Premier League goals in 48 appearances is not what Chelsea expected for £30m. Looked like he was running through treacle. Success rating: 3/10. Getty Images

Nicolas Anelka: Was often played in a wide role with Didier Drogba taking centre stage, but showed little signs of the sulkiness which blighted his earlier career. Scored 59 goals across four seasons after costing £15m. Success rating: 8/10. AFP

Daniel Sturridge: Unable to become the main man up front with Drogba around. Scored 24 goals in three-and-a-half years after costing £3.5m from Man City and left for Liverpool for £12m, so good business from Chelsea. Success rating: 7/10. Reuters

Demba Ba: Cost £7m after a prolific spell at Newcastle United but was reduced to a bit-part role at Stamford Bridge. Scored 14 goals in 23 starts before joining Besiktas in 2014 for £8m. Success rating: 6/10. EPA

Romelu Lukaku: Wanted to play games and manager Jose Mourinho was happy to let him go after just four starts for Chelsea. Eventually sold for £28m to Everton. He cost £18m from Anderlecht, so a profit was made but had they kept him for a few more years the profit could have been even bigger. Success rating: 5/10. AP Photo

Samuel Eto'o: A stop-gap free transfer in 2013, he scored 12 goals in 35 appearances including a hat-trick against Manchester United. The season ended trophy-less and he moved on to Everton. Success rating: 6/10. AFP

Fernando Torres: Oh what a waste of money. Looked a world-beater at Liverpool before his £50m move but had a shocker at Chelsea. He scored just once in 18 games in his first season at the club in 2010-11 and it didn't get much better thereafter. Remembered for missing an open goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Success rating: 2/10. AMA/Corbis via Getty Images

Mohamed Salah: Far from the player he is now, the Egyptian featured just 19 times scoring twice after arriving from Basel for £11m in 2012. "He was just a lost kid in London," said Jose Mourinho recently, and was subsequently sold to Roma after 18 months. Succes rating: 4/10. Getty Images

Didier Drogba: The perfect modern striker, Chelsea struck gold with his signing in 2004 for £24m. Scored more than 150 goals for the club, won four league titles and the Champions League. Success rating: 10/10. Action Images

Loic Remy: Like Demba Ba he arrived after a strong spell at Newcastle, costing £8.5m in 2013, and then left again after being unable to establish himself. Scored 12 goals before departing on a free in 2017. Success rating: 5/10. AFP

Alexandre Pato: He came, he played, he scored, he played again, and then he left. The Brazilian was a star in Serie A for Milan and was back in his homeland when Chelsea needed a short-term fix. Success rating: 4/10. AFP

Radamel Falcao: Arrived on a season-long loan but featured only 12 times, scoring once in 2015/16, a worse rate than his terrible spell at Man Utd. Injuries held him back but he never looked like doing the business. Success rate: 4/10. EPA

Diego Costa: The snarling Spaniard was made for the Premier League and scored 52 goals in 86 starts after joining for £32m in 2014. Returned to Atletico for £57m so good business, though he has been sorely missed by Chelsea since for his mix of strength, goals and - like him or loathe him - character. Success rating: 9/10. AP

Michy Batshuayi: The Belgian has had a strange Chelsea career. Cost £33m from Marseille and then spent ages sat on the bench. When he did play he invariably scored and has a record of 19 goals from just 18 starts. Still owned by Chelsea, he's been on loan at Valencia. Success rating: 6/10. Getty Images

Olivier Giroud: Signed as a replacement for Diego Costa in January 2018, the Frenchman won the World Cup with France but hasn't had much to cheer since. Eden Hazard raves about the target man but the goals have dried up - just four in the league from 33 appearances since his £18m transfer. Could still come good, though he'll play second fiddle to Higuain if he joins. Success rating: 6/10. Reuters

Alvaro Morata: Has never looked convincing in a Chelsea shirt since arriving for £60m in 2017. Not a total flop in the vein of Torres or Shevchenko but more was expected given the fee and a return of 16 league goals in 47 appearances. Expectations of strikers have grown since the Ronaldo-Messi goal spree of the past decade. Success rating: 5/10. AP Photo

Chelsea are in need of a new striker. But it has always felt as though Chelsea have required a new striker during the past decade - except when Didier Drogba and Diego Costa were scoring regularly.

The problems for the London club arose when those two needed replacing, or a reliable back up was necessary, and the investments made simply didn't result in value for money.

They find themselves in that position again having fallen 13 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, and with senior attackers Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud both regarded as lacking the necessary firepower to take the team any higher.

The short-term answer appears to be Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain, the 31-year-old currently on a season-long loan at AC Milan from Juventus, where he was deemed surplus to requirements in the summer after Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival from Real Madrid.

He isn't exactly in the best form himself, having scored just once in his past 12 matches though he has had a prolific career.

He was left on the bench for the Italian Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia last week, which Juventus won 1-0.

AC Milan's Gonzalo Higuain after the Italian Super Cup final in Jeddah. Reuters

And he was set to be left out completely from Milan's squad for their Monday night fixture against Genoa.

"I accept his decision," said manager Gennaro Gattuso. "Surely he could have done more and maybe we could have helped him fit in better.

"I want to be honest with you all. We had a poor training session today due to all these rumours. We spoke after the training session and I did not consider him ready for this game."

Should Higuain join Chelsea, which looks inevitable, he will link up once again with manager Maurizio Sarri, for whom he played under at Napoli and scored a record 36 league goals in the 2015-16 season.

His goalscoring record is fantastic, having notched more than a century at Real Madrid and better than one in two at Juventus. He has, however, been accused of struggling in the biggest matches, including the World Cup last summer where he failed to score.

Chelsea fans are no strangers to struggling strikers, having witnessed many hapless displays during the past decades from hundreds of millions of pounds worth of talent - most notably Andrei Shevchenko and Fernando Torres.

Check out the slideshow at the top of all of Chelsea's main striking options from the past decade and how they rated.

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