Despite enduring plenty of poor performances in the first half of the season, Chelsea fans have been able to enjoy watching their team over the last month or so, as five wins from seven have seen them reach ninth in the Premier League, the League Cup final and the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.
Mauricio Pochettino has the opportunity to keep the good times coming and make a massive statement in the clash with Liverpool this evening, but one player who is unlikely to be involved is Armando Broja.
The Albanian has been touted for a move away from Chelsea for much of this month, and as they say, there's no smoke without fire.
Moreover, the latest player linked to Stamford Bridge could make for the perfect replacement.
One in, One out
According to reports from Spain, Chelsea have 'entered the race to sign Jonathan David' and have already been in talks with LOSC Lille over the Canadian's future 'for some time.'
The 24-year-old is contracted to Les Dogues until next summer, but according to the report, he is eager to join the Blues this month.
While the Ligue 1 giants are understandably reluctant to sell a striker who has been so effective for them over the last three-and-a-half years, the report has revealed that they would accept offers around the €40m mark, which is about £34m.
If Todd Boehly and Co can get this over the line, it would be a fantastic way to replace Broja.
How David compares to Broja
Now, unless Chelsea promote a player from their academy to fill the void, they will need to bring in another number nine to replace Broja should he leave; otherwise, they will be left with just Nicolas Jackson as the squad's only out-and-out nine, which, considering he has underperformed his expected goals figure by over four this year, is far from ideal.
Luckily, in David, they could be about to sign one of the most promising forwards in France at the moment, and at just 24 years old, there is still plenty of time for him to develop into a leading Premier League number nine.
That said, if he can just replicate his Ligue 1 form in west London, the fans are in for a treat, as he has never scored fewer than 13 goals for Lille in a complete league campaign.
Last season was his most impressive campaign to date, as he notched up a frankly remarkable 24 goals and four assists in just 36 league starts, a level of output that makes podcaster Tony Marinaro's claim that David is "one of the best strikers in the world" easier to get behind.
In comparison, Broja's best season came back in 2020/21 when he scored ten Eredivisie goals and provided two assists for Vitesse, with his six league goals for Southampton a year later being his second-best return.
It isn't just in goals and assists where the Canadian "phenom", as described by Marinaro, outclasses the Chelsea man, as it's just as one-sided when looking at the pair's underlying numbers.
David
Broja
0.54
0.50
0.38
0.20
0.06
0.00
1.99
2.20
2.76
1.20
1.28
0.40
2.44
1.59
0.71
2.60
50.0%
41.9%
In every relevant metric bar progressive carries and successful take-ons per 90, the Lille man emerges victorious, and in specific statistics such as shot-creating actions and progressive passes per 90, it's by a landslide.
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Ultimately, the Blues look set to cash in on Broja this month, and if they can do that and replace him with David, then it could be one of the best decisions Boehly and Co have in their tumultuous tenure at the club.