How will Chelsea line up on the attacking front?

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho

After a summer long public courtship of Wayne Rooney ended in tears, Jose Mourinho turned to his trusted aide from his time at Inter, Samuel Eto’o to bolster his striking options. And whilst letting Lukaku going out on loan to Everton might not be one of his better decisions, the fact is Chelsea have a multitude of options in midfield who could yet make the difference. With the likes of Mata, Hazard, De Bruyne and Oscar to name a few amongst his options in attack, the question concerning who leads the line might not matter after all.

With the loaning of Lukaku and the waning form of Demba Ba, Chelsea are left with just two recognized centre-forwards. One of them, Eto’o, has never played in England before and the other, Fernando Torres is still struggling to recapture the form he showed at Liverpool. This certainly shows just how critical signing Wayne Rooney might have been and why Mourinho made it very public. But now that the transfer window is closed and no more signings are possible, let us look at how Chelsea could field their forward line for the rest of the season.

Mourinho traditionally doesn’t favour a twin-pronged attack and with the midfield options at his disposal, it is highly unlikely that he would change his ways. With the wealth of experience brought in by the three-time Champions League winner, Torres might yet produce his best form. Torres and Eto’o might be able to help one another recapture the form that saw both of them branded as two of the most lethal centre- forwards in the world barely a few years ago. Whilst the idea of both playing together is unlikely, there is no point in denying that Torres could certainly benefit from playing with Eto’o.

Alternatively, Mourinho could play André Schürrle as a centre-forward when necessary; like how he played briefly in the game against United at Old Trafford, which would certainly alleviate some pressure off the striking duo. The talented German, who mostly played on the wings for Leverkusen, is equally adept at playing as the second striker. At Chelsea however, he might have to play as the lone forward, which, with his pace, strength and knack to play on the break might not be all that challenging.

The third and the final option might be the one that they tried unsuccessfully in the game against Manchester United, before which, Mourinho declared, “I’m not scared to make decisions”.

That was in response to whether he might play all his midfielders together without a recognized centre forward. True to his word, the game against United featured a front four of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Kevin De Bruyne and André Schürrle in a strikerless formation.

The game while depicting how far down the pecking order Juan Mata was, also demonstrated the fact that Mourinho could very well deploy a formation that was devoid of any strikers. And with the addition of Eto’o to their ranks, it is still a last resort that Mourinho can count on. And whilst it didn’t succeed against a United defense which stayed strong, it could work out against the lesser teams. With the amount of chances that might be created with the players on show, the Blues are certain to nick one or two before the game ends.

Mourinho has a vast array of talented players amongst his squad to choose from. With the wealth of attacking options at his disposal, it seems very likely that whatever team he puts out certainly possesses the ability to come up with the goods.