Forget Arturo Vidal, Chelsea need to sign Samuel Eto'o Mk II in January

The starting pistol was clearly fired on a month of boundless speculation, yesterday at Stamford Bridge, with a speculative question from a South American journalist.

Was Arturo Vidal, one of Antonio Conte's most trusted henchmen from Juventus days, on his way to Stamford Bridge?

Chelsea never confirm nor deny transfer speculation, so the ensuing headlines knowingly nodding towards the fact that Conte had failed to rule out the possibility, were disingenuous at best.

We can be fairly certain, from Conte's response, and from what we know about the parties in this particular game, that Vidal won't be joining Chelsea in January.

Indeed, the press conference question was actually about the possibility of a summer move: by which time the Chilean will be 31 (at which age Chelsea only offer one-year deals); and Conte, as things stand, looks likely to be elsewhere.

Another issue is that Chelsea, despite the obvious quality, aren't really looking for a Vidal-like player.

Come the summer, Vidal will still have a year left on his Bayern deal: why would he switch to London for only a year's security? And why would Chelsea pay a not-insignificant fee for a player that would only deliver a year's service?

Plus, Chelsea have no real vacancies in midfield.

Where they do have a need, of course, is up front.

The two most recent games – before Christmas at Everton, and on Boxing Day at home to Brighton – were very similar in the way they unfolded.

Both opposing sides sat back, and built a wall: barely attempting to sting on the counter.

The difference, borne out by the results, can be easily summed up: with a striker, Chelsea won 2-0; without one, it was a 90-minute deadlock.

Chelsea had success against Huddersfield with Eden Hazard in that forward role. But coaches, particularly those with reasonably safe mid-table positions, for whom a draw against the champions is considered a bonus point, found an easy way of stifling the Blues' aims.

It is probably fair to say that Alvaro Morata is yet to fully show his best in the Premier League. However, even in this stage of acclimatisation and development, he is scoring plenty of goals.

Much of that is due to the link-up with Cesar Azpilicueta, yet again one of Chelsea's most consistent performers this season, whose angled crosses suit his Spanish team-mate's aerial prowess so very well.

Those balls, as we saw at Goodison, are lost in Morata's absence.

Which is why Conte needs to sign a striker this January.

Michy Batshuayi, unfortunately for both him and Chelsea, is just not that sort of player.

While many raise the issue of his lacklustre positioning, often preferring to hang outside the box rather than mix it in the middle; the biggest issue is that the Belgian prefers the ball to his feet.

Morata, meanwhile, is able to chase it into space – something which suits Chelsea's system.

Teams are often said to need a striker who offers a different option; Chelsea, in this case, need one who offers the same – but is willing to act as understudy.

In striker terms, that usually means a senior servant: at Chelsea that has, in the recent past, looked like Samuel Eto'o, or Didier Drogba v2.0.

But the same conditions will apply to any potential striker signing as would apply to Vidal: it needs to be a player who is out of contract (or in his last six months), one only looking for a short term deal, and one who is not Champions League cup tied.

This is exactly the same dilemma that faced both Chelsea and Conte in the summer; and it is why Batshuayi remains as a bit of a square peg, trying to fit into a round hole, on the Blues' bench.

For those seeking exciting Chelsea transfer developments, January is likely to be a long month: with much speculation, and little delivery.

Chelsea are effectively chasing only one player: but whether they yet know who he is; and whether they manage to pull it off – these are things on which we will have to wait and see.