Chelsea went into this window with a long list of potential striker targets to sign as reinforcement to Tammy Abraham but one by one they’re being taken off the table.
The latest to leave the market is Gabriel Barbosa, the Inter Milan striker. He’s been on loan at Flamengo, and he’s about to make that deal permanent, according to reports in the Brazilian media such as ESPN in Brazil:
Com Gabigol, elenco do Flamengo tem cinco das 10 contratações mais caras da história do futebol brasileiro#FutebolNaESPN https://t.co/zkaT7OHT0r
— ESPN Brasil (@ESPNBrasil) January 28, 2020
This isn’t surprising, and it’s hardly devastating news either. Yes he’s a talented player, but it would have been a risk too. He struggled to settle in Italy, so it seems likely he would have had similar or perhaps even more severe problems settling here in the UK too.
A talented but temperamental youngster is not what we need, we need a mature player happy to sit on the bench for periods behind Abraham.
Who will it end up being? Well, that’s anyone’s guess at this stage.
