Tottenham beat Chelsea to sign Fernando Llorente on deadline day.
Chelsea slipped to defeat against Crystal Palace at the weekend, struggling without injured top scorer Alvaro Morata.
Back-up striker Michy Batshuayi struggled in front of goal and was substituted during the 2-1 defeat.
BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks believes Chelsea’s failure to sign Fernando Llorente from Swansea City is coming back to haunt them.
ESPN reported on August 30 that Chelsea were in ‘advanced talks’ to sign Llorente – only for Tottenham to pip them to the £14 million move one day later.
Llorente has not done much at Tottenham just yet, stuck behind Harry Kane in the pecking order.
Crooks told BBC Sport: “I find it inconceivable that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte finds himself with only one player to replace injured forward Alvaro Morata. Batshuayi is simply not ready to lead the line for a team like Chelsea, while Spurs have a man sitting on their bench – Fernando Llorente – who might. Madness.”
Llorente scored 15 goals for Swansea last season and his signing should pay off for Spurs as the season goes on.
Chelsea meanwhile only have themselves to blame for leaving their interest in Llorente so late, there was always a risk another side could steal in.
The Diego Costa situation cast a cloud over Chelsea’s striker situation in the summer.
When Morata is fit, the Blues look good, and Batshuayi can make an impact off the bench, but he is yet to prove himself capable when more is asked of him.
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