With Nkunku injured, Poch may be forced to splash out on new striker
gloomy, manager Pochettino will demand cover, especially with Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja struggling to convince up front.
The Chelsea boss (above) said: “I am a little worried. I still don’t have all the information about whether he is going to be available or not.
“We need to make some decisions and see how we can fix the problem.”
The Blues have been monitoring Napoli’s Victor Osimhen for months but he has a £100million release clause and, in any case, is unlikely to move during the January window.
Brighton’s young striker Evan Ferguson is another on the Stamford
Bridge radar but he command a huge fee.
Nkunku returned only last month from a knee injury and has started just one Premier League game since his £52m move from Leipzig.
The 26-year-old scored 16 times in 25 Bundesliga matches last season and was expected to be a key part of Chelsea’s attack.
In his absence the Blues have had to lean heavily on Jackson and Broja, who is only just back from his own lengthy injury lay-off.
Pochettino, whose side aim to bounce back from their EFL Cup semi-final first-leg defeat at Middlesbrough
too would
against Fulham today, said: “Jackson is 21 and Broja is 21, they are young guys who need to adapt. That’s why we feel a bit more the hit of losing Nkunku because he was consistent in scoring goals.
“It felt like it became compulsory for Jackson to score with every touch. Broja, with one year out, needs to now play three games in a row and that’s difficult for him.”
Chelsea suffered a major setback when they lost at Boro but Pochettino is not expecting a hangover.
He said: “We can learn from criticism and be tough. We need to feel the pressure because we need to grow. It’s not only with good things that you can improve.”
Fulham, just four points behind Chelsea in the Premier League table, are also bidding to bounce back from a narrow Carabao Cup semi-final defeat (they lost 2-1 at Liverpool on Wednesday after going ahead).
The two teams met at Craven Cottage in early October with Broja scoring in a 2-0 win for Chelsea.
Last season’s Stamford Bridge showdown finished 0-0 in February but just a month earlier Fulham had beaten the Blues 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, with goals from former Chelsea star Willian and Carlos Vinicius.
SEAN DYCHE reflected on an “interesting” first 12 months as Everton boss ahead of the anniversary of his appointment.
Dyche arrived at Goodison Park on January 30 last year, replacing Frank Lampard with the Blues 19th in the Premier League table.
Since then, he has overseen a dramatic relegation escape on the final day of last season, and watched a promising start to this campaign undermined by a 10-point deduction, which the club has since appealed, for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
Asked to sum up his first year in the job, Dyche (above) said: “Interesting, I would say! A lot has gone on, a lot has been done and there is still a lot to do. Lots of changes behind the scenes, too, but too much to go into.
“But overall I would say it has been relatively successful – calming down the situation at the very
Quarter-final, 5pm Quarter-final, 8pm
Quarter-final, 5pm Quarter-final, 8pm
Semi-final, 5pm Semi-final, 8pm
Final, 8pm