Chelsea legend Tony Cascarino believes that the Blues should sign Marko Arnautovic of West Ham United, calling the Austrian a perfect fit for the west Londoners.
The disappointing 1-0 defeat against Leicester at Stamford Bridge, Maurizio Sarri’s first loss at home since taking over the club last summer, once again highlighted the issues in the central attacking position for Chelsea. Despite dominating the Foxes for large parts of the match, the Blues were not able to convert such supremacy into tangible outputs as they failed to find a way past Kasper Schmeichel in goal.
Eden Hazard, who started as the central attacking option for the Blues for the third time in a row, beat the Foxes keeper but not the bar with a 32nd-minute strike while Olivier Giroud, who came on as a second-half substitute, was not really able to trouble the Foxes goalkeeper.
Giroud and Alvaro Morata, Chelsea’s nominal strikers under Sarri, have managed just six goals between them in the league this season and while Hazard has struck on eight occasions, he is far from the consistent goalscorer that can lead the Blues to the title.
Recent reports have linked the west Londoners with moves for Gonzalo Higuain and Jamie Vardy, who made the difference at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, during the winter transfer window yet former Chelsea favourite Cascarino, who played as a striker for Chelsea in the early 90s, thinks that they need not look far to land a player blessed with qualities suited to their playing style.
“You know the one player I’d really want to take? Arnautovic – I’d take him in a heartbeat. I think he’d fit perfectly into Chelsea,” said the ex-Blues forward, who likened the Hammers striker’s mentality to that of a certain Premier League legend.
“The thing with Arnautovic – he reminds me of that Eric Cantona mindset,” Cascarino added. “He thinks he’s good enough to be up there at the top table, and he is. He was dreadful at times last year, but there’s a real player in there and he needs a challenge.
“And maybe the challenge is West Ham? I’m not saying he should leave West Ham, but he is a guy who needs to be winning things. He’s that good of a player. “Arnautovic is a player capable of playing for one of the best teams in England.”
