Chelsea may have already hinted at the sort of business they are going to do in the January transfer window because of their mega spending over the past 12 months
At the full-time whistle on September 24, in Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, it marked three straight Premier League games that the Blues had failed to score in. Heavy boos rang around the stadium but since that match, Chelsea have scored in seven of their eight games in all competitions.
That includes eight goals in their last two games against the likes of Tottenham, albeit with nine men, and champions Manchester City. Nicolas Jackson has four of those goals, with the Senegal international picking up some much-needed form ahead of the busiest part of the season.
As highly as Chelsea rate Jackson, though, there is an acceptance that he is still very raw at 22 years old and they do not want to burn him out by relying on him too much in front of goal. So, it goes without saying that another striker is needed at Stamford Bridge, with Armando Broja in a similar boat to Jackson.
We are yet to see the impact, or position, of Christopher Nkunku either. The France international is expected to make his competitive debut for the club after the ongoing international break after he suffered a knee injury in pre-season.
There is no doubt Chelsea will look to sign a centre-forward in 2024 and at the moment, a move in January is being considered. As reported by football.london on Monday afternoon, Chelsea are seriously considering making an offer to Brentford for Ivan Toney in the January transfer window.
Brentford are said to be asking for around £80million for them to even consider selling Toney, who is set to return from an eight-month ban in January. The Blues have spent very big in the previous two windows – suggesting Todd Boehly is not scared of doing so yet again when January rolls around.
At the start of 2023, Chelsea splashed £105million on Enzo Fernandez to sign from Benfica. The Blues smashed their – at the time – transfer record on signing the Argentina World Cup winner, but they went even higher on another South American when the summer transfer window came around.
After competition from Liverpool at the last minute, Chelsea agreed a £115million deal with Brighton to sign Moises Caicedo. An extortionate fee, albeit Chelsea will hope to be able to go considerably lower to take Toney away from Brentford.
Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast earlier this year, Toney admitted he could be tempted should a "big club" come in for him. "I don't let this all affect me," the England international said on speculation over where his future lies.
"Obviously, it will go on in the background but my job is to keep training well when I get the chance. In the games, keep scoring and doing well but I think everybody wants to play at the top of the tree.
"Not that Brentford aren't there, but I feel like playing for a big club, fighting for trophies, these kind of things, everybody wants to do. If the chance was to come along, I think I would be silly not to look more into it."
And that is why, earlier in the year, Toney decided to switch agents. The 27-year-old striker is now represented by super agent Jonathan Barnett's CAA Stellar agency, who he is hoping will be able to get him the best possible deal should he transfer away from Brentford.