Former Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips believes the Blues are lacking a true striker despite Nicolas Jackson’s contributions.

“If you look at Chelsea’s front line-up, I’d say they need an out-and-out striker. I like watching Nicolas Jackson play because of the runs he makes in behind. But he doesn’t come across to me as an out-and-out striker.”

Instead, Wright-Phillips sees Jackson as a more natural wide player rather than a traditional number nine.

“The way I see him, he’s more like a winger that makes those runs in and gets involved with the striker. Every time Chelsea’s played him on the left, he looks like a completely different player.”

He also downplayed Chelsea’s recent struggles, arguing that their defensive lapses have been a season-long issue but were masked by their attacking firepower earlier in the campaign.

“Chelsea are just going through a blip. I think the mistakes they’re getting punished for now also happened at the start of the season, but then they didn’t get punished, and even when they did, they were scoring so many goals and Cole Palmer was on fire.”

With Chelsea still searching for consistency, Wright-Phillips’ comments highlight the need for a reliable goal scorer to lead the line at Stamford Bridge.