The last time Chelsea signed two out-and-out senior strikers for the first team in the same transfer window was over 10 years ago now. On that occasion, they actually brought in three.
It was 2014. Jose Mourinho was in charge, heading into his second season since returning, and it was clear where Chelsea had fallen short in his first year.
Compared to Liverpool and Manchester City, who pipped them to the Premier League title late on after a mad dash to the finish with twists and turns late on, Chelsea scored a relatively small number of goals. With 71, they were 30 short of Liverpool and 31 behind City.
Liverpool's issue was conceding 50 under Brendan Rodgers, who almost fired them to an unlikely win with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. Chelsea only let in 27, which was 10 fewer than City.
The issue was scoring. They failed to find the net in eight league matches, including three of their final eight games when the title was ultimately lost. They had four goalless draws.
Mourinho's answer was Diego Costa. The Fernando Torres experiment had not worked, and Chelsea didn't have enough firepower to get over the line. Demba Ba and Samuel Eto'o were meant to do the job but couldn't, with only Eden Hazard getting to double figures (14). Eto'o managed nine, Torres five, and Ba the same.
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By the time the World Cup in Brazil had started, Costa and Cesc Fabregas had arrived to transform Chelsea into title winners. They went from finishing third to being favourites in the space of one clinical summer.
As well as Costa, who would bang in 20 league goals in his debut campaign (which is ultimately short of what he could have managed after seven from his opening four and nine from the first seven). Costa would only play 26 league games, starting 24, and still reached the 20 mark.
His support was Loic Remy, signed as backup from QPR. Remy hit seven goals from six starts (19 total appearances). Didier Drogba came back as the veteran and managed four, including two decisive ones away at Manchester United and Leicester City.
Mourinho's team was stocked and ready to go. Chelsea identified the problem areas in the squad and addressed them. They added depth and quality, although Drogba was more for vibes than anything else.
So that brings us to what the club might be doing this summer. Having gone close to buying two strikers in the same window previously (Timo Werner and Kai Havertz in 2020 almost fits the bill - Werner ended up more as a wide forward for Thomas Tuchel and Havertz was most certainly not a No.9 initially), Chelsea could be about to repeat that trick here.
Alvaro Morata in 2017 (ironically, replacing Costa), and then Olivier Giroud the following January is almost a similar situation. What is clear is that in a world of one-striker systems, buying two at the same time is increasingly uncommon.
Yet, despite having 24-year-old Nicolas Jackson (with an unspectacular but respectable 24 league goals and 10 assists in two seasons given the responsibility placed upon him) and now Liam Delap, another addition cannot be ruled out. Christopher Nkunku also came in 2023 with Jackson but, again, was more of a floating player than a genuine centre forward, as has played out.
Among the names still being eyed by Chelsea is Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt. He will not be leaving for less than his £84.5million valuation, the German side say, and Chelsea will not be buying him for that price. Ekitike remains a player of interest for the Stamford Bridge recruitment think-tank as well as a host of others including Liverpool and Manchester United.
Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres are the proven, older strikers on the market. They both have high wage demands but have a sense of Chelsea coding about them. The power and box presence that both have is akin to the Chelsea of old.
That is where the Delap attraction comes from. He is somewhat of a throwback striker who bullies defenders. He also showed the Manchester City academy touch to score his first goal for Chelsea in the Club World Cup, rolling inside and taking a touch on his chest before placing a shot inside the posts.
Delap arrived at Chelsea behind Jackson, in all likelihood; however, the circumstances have already changed. Jackson's red card in America has given Delap an extended (albeit brief) run in the side and the excitement follows.
There is a lack of trust from Chelsea supporters in Jackson after a problematic 2025 full of his worst attributes - missing chances, ill-discipline, and inconsistency. There have been plenty of flashes of his good qualities too, such as the linkup play to setup Pedro Neto's opener against Los Angeles FC (LAFC), but that is forgotten after his moments of madness.
It creates the sense that Chelsea are not yet done in the market when it comes to strikers. Osimhen and Gyokeres are players that fans are crying out for but Ekitike is closer to the profile of age and style that they are after.
The bar has been set extremely high with Costa-Remy-Drogba, but Chelsea's very insistence that nothing can be ruled out is a move towards adding depth and options up front which simply haven't been available before. That in itself is enough to be hopeful of.