The same name keeps coming back
Chelsea are tracking Freiburg forward Igor Matanovic, alongside Arsenal and Manchester United, after his start to the Bundesliga season (25) (27). That is the news of the week, and it says more about the striker situation at Stamford Bridge than about Matanovic. A squad that scored four against Brighton and three at Fulham is now shopping for a centre-forward. Five league games into the season, Chelsea sit 10th on seven points with a minus two goal difference and a form line of W W L D L. The attack is not the only problem, but it is the one the club is spending money to fix.
Look at the last two results and the case writes itself. Chelsea drew 2–2 at home with Hull City on September 12, then lost 3–0 at Brentford on September 18. Two games, two goals for Hull at the Bridge, none at the Gtech. When your centre-forward options have delivered nothing across two fixtures against mid-table sides, you go and look at a 24-year-old who is scoring in Freiburg. Simple as that.
Chelsea are scouting a market they cannot close
Matanovic is not an isolated name. Chelsea are monitoring Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni with Tottenham, Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton watching too (10) (24). They have joined the race for Nottingham Forest defender Murillo (14) (28). They revived interest in Barcelona right-back Jules Kounde after missing him in 2022 (26) (27). And they lead the queue for Bournemouth's Alex Scott, though Real Madrid are now weighing up a move (8) (15) (20).
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That is five names, four positions, and no completed deal. The approach is consistent: identify young talent, move early, keep the interest warm for months if the first bid fails. Bournemouth rejected £60m-plus offers for Scott in the summer and Chelsea are still there (8). Scott has already made his England debut and scored his first goal for his country. He would not be a squad filler.
One half of the club is not in a crisis
Chelsea Women beat West Ham 0–3 in the Women's Super League this week, with Melvine Malard opening the scoring and Keira Walsh finishing it (1) (4). Sonia Bompastor's side have now kept six clean sheets in a row and remain unbeaten in the league (5). Erin Cuthbert returned to the matchday squad and Maika Hamano got her first start of the campaign (11). Everything the men's team cannot do right now, the women's team does weekly: control games, keep the ball out of their own net, win.
What to watch
AFC Bournemouth come to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, October 10, 16:00 CEST, then Chelsea go to Everton on October 17. That Bournemouth fixture matters twice over, because Bournemouth are the club holding Alex Scott (8). Watch whether Chelsea's midfield looks like it needs him. Then watch whether the club finally moves on a forward, or whether Matanovic joins the list of names the scouts keep filing and nobody signs.
