One thing is for certain: Chelsea will be looking to sign a striker this summer. One thing is less definite: who the striker will be.
Plenty of names have been mentioned already with the Blues being interested in the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Victor Osimhen, Benjamin Sesko and Liam Delap. The latter of those four, Delap, is someone the club have been keeping a close eye on during his breakthrough season in the Premier League with Ipswich Town, football.london understands.
Delap has netted 10 times this season in the top-flight for the Tractor Boys, who have only scored 27 goals in total. This means the 22-year-old striker has scored 37% of his side's goals this season. Comparatively, Mohamed Salah - the Premier League's top scorer - has netted 39% of Liverpool's goals this term - and we all know how much the Reds have relied on the Egyptian's brilliance this term.
For as excellent as Delap has been in a difficult season for Ipswich, it is clear he is not yet the finished article; instead, he is a striker with bags of potential and promise but one that needs time to develop. If he signed for the Blues, there is no real indication he would be ahead of Nicolas Jackson in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge. And that is not what Chelsea need right now.
Chelsea need a No.9 who is already, or close to being, the finished article. Gyokeres and Osimhen are both 26 years old now - theoretically reaching their peak years in elite football - and both seem like smarter options for the west Londoners at this moment in time. These strikers are savages in front of goal and produce astonishing numbers season after season.
That is the type of centre-forward the Blues need right now and arguably have not had since Romelu Lukaku joined the club just under 11 years ago. Plenty have arrived at Stamford Bridge since then with high hopes, including the likes of Diego Costa, Radamel Falcao and Romelu Lukaku, but it has not worked out for whatever reason.
This summer, Chelsea cannot afford to get this particular signing wrong. If they get it right, then it could be the catapult they need in order to compete at the very top once again. Don't get it twisted, there are other areas of the squad that need strengthening, too, but bringing a world-class No.9 to the club should massively elevate the development and progress of this team.
Delap has plenty of promise and it looks as if he will enjoy a wonderful career but he is not the profile Chelsea need right now. If they were needing to sign two strikers, having Delap as a back-up option would be ideal, but Jackson has proven he can become a fantastic player in the future. He is now, but he can get even better.
Jackson, though, needs the support and competition at Chelsea to develop even further as a striker. Chelsea will be hoping to play in the Champions League next season, so will have a busy fixture schedule once again where they will be playing three times a week on a frequent basis. The Blues need to be able to rotate but not get any weaker while doing so - something that has not been possible this season.