As seems to be the case more often than not for Chelsea in recent times, the club seem to be failing to live up to their high standards as one of England's so-called 'Big-Six.'
The west London club have spent record fees on both permanent and temporary transfers since Todd Boehly took over from former owner, Roman Abramovich.
Despite splashing out over £1b on players since his takeover, it seems as if Chelsea have found themselves worse off than when Abramovich was their owner – far from the outcome that Boehly would have wanted when he bought the Blues over 18 months ago.
The club find themselves residing in mid-table, winning just two of their last five top-flight games, with such woes largely due to the problems they have suffered in front of goal as, at the time of writing, they have only managed to score a total of 42 goals in 25 Premier League games.
Although numerous attacking additions were made over the summer, with the likes of Cristopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson both joining the club, they haven't performed to the standards expected of them.
Granted, Nkunku has been injured for a total of 27 games for the Blues this season, but, after coming off the back of his most prolific domestic campaign for RB Leipzig last season, he was expected to perform better.
Jackson, on the other hand, hasn't missed any games due to injury and has almost cemented his place in Chelsea's starting Xi.
That said, he himself hasn't had the best of seasons and really needs to improve in front of goal if Chelsea wish to regain entry to the Champions League.
Nicolas Jackson's season in numbers
The 22-year-old joined the Blues in the summer for a fee worth around £31.8m and was expected to set the Premier League alight with his speed and agility.
Much like Nkunku, Jackson joined the club after his most prolific professional season with Villareal. The striker scored a total of 13 goals across all competitions and was the perfect partner for veteran, Gerard Moreno.
Throughout the 2023/24 campaign, Jackson has played a key role within the squad and has played a total of 27 games thus far. The vast majority of his goals (seven) have come in the Premier League, but almost half of those came in one game, when the attacker bagged his first Chelsea hat-trick against rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Although he managed to slot three past a nine-man Spurs side, his performances across the rest of the season have been somewhat unconvincing.
So much so that Chelsea new boy, Cole Palmer, has been deployed as a striker this season. According to Transfermarkt, in six of the 29 games that the Manchester City academy graduate has played in this season, he has been deployed as a striker or false nine
Prior to joining the Blues, Palmer had only been used as the focal point of the attack once in his senior career, with the previous examples coming whilst he was still within the youth ranks of the Cityzens.
Although Palmer himself is having something of a breakout season, he can't be entrusted to carry Mauricio Pochettino's team on his own just yet.
Hence, why players such as Jackson need to step up and help out in attack, yet if the form of the Senegal international continues as it has been, he could well be sold in the near future.
Pochettino's side have already been linked with Victor Osimhen from Napoli as a potential future target to aid them in the attacking department.
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However, as Jackson is one of the only natural strikers at the club at this moment in time who isn't absent due to injury, Chelsea may have to look in their youth ranks to turn their fortunes around.
If they were to do this, there is one player in particular who springs to mind, who could be exactly what Chelsea are looking for.
Ronnie Stutter's record at youth level
Much like most of the top six clubs in England's top flight, Chelsea have a stellar academy and have produced plenty of Premier League talent who have gone on to have long careers in one of the world's most difficult leagues.
Players such as John Terry, Mason Mount and Reece James have all graduated from Chelsea's academy and have had strong senior careers thus far.
It now looks as if they have yet another next-level talent on their hands in Ronnie Stutter. The striker is just 19 years old and "can't stop scoring" for Chelsea's U21s, as per journalist Antonio Mango.
The promising striker was signed by the Blues in 2019 from fellow Londoners, West Ham United, in order to try and bolster their attacking options in their youth ranks.
After coming off a solid 2021/22 campaign, in which he scored 13 goals in 16 appearances, he suffered recurring injuries which halted his growth and performances.
The youngster has played a total of 13 games for the Blues' youth side and has managed to score nine goals during that time. The eye-catching marksman has even managed to provide his team with an assist.
The 2023/24 season has been Stutter's first season with the Under-21s, and he looks to have settled right, having even managed to score on his Under-21 debut while bagging five goals in August alone.
Now, due to the recent poor form of Jackson in front of the goal, Pochettino could well look towards Stutter to provide the team with something different.
His addition to the first-team squad could help the club finally end their search for a striker. As aforementioned, many of Chelsea's senior team members have come from within, with the likes of James and Conor Gallagher being some recent examples.
If Pochettino decides to take the risk and play the forward over the likes of Jackson, he may unearth Chelsea's next gem and save the club from spending more money than what they have already done.
