Ben Jacobs’ exclusive column for our sister site CaughtOffside has revealed some interesting things about players Chelsea didn’t end up signing this summer.

On the evidence of this season so far, we’re very short up front, with just the raw Nicolas Jackson up front and not much backing him up.

One player Jacobs says we really liked was Antonio Nusa, the Club Brugges wonderkid. He would hardly have given us experience, but he would have given us another option. In any case, it’s a moot point, as the youngster was keen to stay put and continue playing and developing in Belgium.

“All manner of names were considered by Chelsea in addition to those players offered. Club Brugge striker Antonio Nusa was one talent Chelsea really liked, but the 18-year-old didn’t want to move until 2024,” Jacobs explained.

The problem is that if our goalscoring struggles continue it seems likely we buy an experienced forward in January, which would seemingly make Nusa very unlikely to join us in the summer. Once again we’re left thrashing back and forth between our desire to build a team of teenage wonderkids and our need to score goals and win games right now.