Chelsea’s relationship with the No 9 has been complicated to say the least during the Premier League era – just ask Khalid Boulahrouz and Steve Sidwell – with the club becoming one of two in the top flight not to assign the famous shirt number at the start of this season.
Only Chelsea and Wolves started the campaign without a player registered to wear the No 9 shirt. Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have found shattering the British transfer record easier than breaking the Blues’ so-called striker curse.
Friday night’s visit of newly promoted Luton Town to Stamford Bridge offers forwards Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling a golden opportunity to get off the mark, but Mark Stein, who scored 25 goals in 63 games as Chelsea’s No 9 and won the League Cup with the Hatters, cannot understand why nobody wants the famous shirt.
“I couldn’t believe it when I found out that Chelsea haven’t registered a No 9 yet,” said Stein. “I actually think it’s quite worrying.
“You think of players like Peter Osgood and Kerry Dixon, and because of them I was honoured to wear No 9. Of course, pressure came with it, but it was good pressure because you were the man to score the goals.”
Former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel last season admitted that “nobody wants to touch” the No 9 shirt, believing it is cursed following the struggles of Fernando Torres, Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku in it. Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang eventually took it, but endured a miserable season and left Stamford Bridge this summer.
“I understand players being superstitious, but if I was still playing I would want that No 9 shirt,” said Stein. “It’s part of the tradition and the history of the club, it should be an honour and a privilege to wear it.”
Stein wore the No 10 shirt for Luton and added: “Mick Harford was the No 9 when I was at the club and he would have given you a right hook if you’d have tried to take it off him. That’s how much it meant.”
Jose Mourinho could laugh at the fact defender Boulahrouz and midfielder Sidwell both took the No 9 during his first stint as manager because he had a certain Didier Drogba – wearing 15 and then 11 – banging the goals in, and during his second stint there was Diego Costa as No 19 making the struggles of Torres and Radamel Falcao pretty inconsequential.
Chelsea’s problem now is that they do not have a No 9 and they do not have a proven goalscorer at the club, apart from Lukaku, who was handed the shirt on his Stamford Bridge comeback but does not have a squad number after returning from a season on loan at Inter Milan.
Make no mistake, numbers matter to players. That is why goalkeeper Robert Sanchez switched to No 1 after Kepa Arrizabalaga joined Real Madrid on loan, and Sterling switched from No 17 to No 7 this summer. It is also, presumably, why forwards Jackson and Christopher Nkunku picked 15 and 18, respectively, which they had worn at their former clubs.
Nkunku’s injury, suffered in pre-season, was a huge blow as there was optimism the Frenchman could form a prolific partnership with Jackson, who has impressed in just about every aspect other than getting on the scoresheet during his first two games.
Aged 22, Jackson will improve but 10 of his 12 La Liga goals for Villarreal last season came over the final 11 games, which suggests he could still be some way from being a consistent goal threat.
Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp questioned why Jackson did not try to take the penalty that Enzo Fernandez missed against West Ham United. That may have been slightly unfair, but the fact neither the Senegal international nor Sterling stepped up would suggest Chelsea do not yet have a numbers man among their forwards.
Manchester City, Newcastle United and Liverpool all have forwards who expect to net 20-plus goals a season in Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson, and Mohamed Salah. The Reds will hope their £85 million No 9, Darwin Nunez, can come good this season.
Gabriel Jesus is not prolific for Arsenal, but they successfully shared the burden around a number of offensive players last term and Manchester United will hope to better the 58 goals they netted last season once new signing Rasmus Hojlund is fit to play.
Chelsea scored 20 fewer goals than United, who were the lowest scorers in the top four, last season and will most likely need to net at least 30 more than their woeful tally of 38 to stand a realistic chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
But two from their opening two games of this season has already suggested goals could again be an issue for Chelsea and finding somebody who would be honoured to wear the club’s No 9, just as Stein was, would at least provide encouragement that the club have a striker who wants to be judged on his numbers.
