Chelsea were again left to rue a glut of missed chances as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Leicester City on Saturday afternoon and a new striker must be top of manager Maurizio Sarri's Christmas wish list.
The loss at Stamford Bridge all but ended Chelsea's hopes of winning the title this season and it is telling that only Tottenham of the current top-five teams in the Premier League table have scored less than Chelsea's 35 goals so far.
Sarri has been reliant on the brilliance of Eden Hazard, who has scored 10 goals in 21 games in all competitions this season, and he could be forgiven for growing tired of the efforts of the two centre-forwards in his Chelsea squad as Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud have managed 12 goals in 42 appearances between them.
It seems inevitable that Chelsea will try to sign a striker when the January transfer window opens and we take a look at three realistic targets...
Callum Wilson (Bournemouth)
Callum Wilson has battled back from two serious knee injuries to become a genuine Premier League force for an exciting Bournemouth team this season. The England striker has scored eight goals and laid on six assists in seventeen league games so far and he has been continually linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.
The 26-year-old is approaching his best years as a footballer and he deserves a chance at a so-called 'bigger club'. Bookmakers go 9/4 for Wilson to be at Chelsea when the January transfer window closes.
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Former Chelsea midfielder Dennis Wise has told The Express that he fully expects his old club to make a move for either Leicester City's Jamie Vardy or Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski when the transfer window opens.
Vardy has endured a tough season with Leicester so far, scoring a respectable six league goals, as he has struggled to see eye-to-eye with Foxes boss Claude Puel. The 31-year-old is a proven scorer in the top flight though as he has notched 63 goals in 122 league appearances during the past four seasons. Would he be a good fit for Chelsea? It remains to be seen.
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Chelsea's No. 1 target should be Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker had reportedly been keen on a move away from Bayern Munich last summer before the newly appointed manager Niko Kovac convinced him to stay.
The 30-year-old might be wondering if he has made the right decision as Bayern have made a slow start to the Bundesliga campaign and are currently six points behind league leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Despite Bayern's relative struggles, Lewandowski has still scored 22 goals in 24 games in all competitions and he averages a goal every 97 minutes. He would be the ideal man to solve Chelsea's goalscoring problems.
