Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has downplayed whether Chelsea need to sign a new striker. The Blues forked out almost £100million on centre-forwards last summer, signing Joao Pedro from Brighton and Liam Delap from Ipswich Town.

The former has enjoyed an excellent debut campaign at Stamford Bridge, leading by example with his aggressiveness in the duel, intensity in the press, and tenacity in retrieving possession. More often than not this term, Joao Pedro has fed off scraps, yet he's still managed to directly contribute to nearly 30 goals across all competitions by March.

Meanwhile, the latter hasn't had the desired impact, even if he's often been reduced to appearances off the bench. Delap has only managed to score twice this season, finding the net against Barcelona in the Champions League and Fulham in the Premier League.

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As for Marc Guiu, he's only played less than 200 minutes this year. Speaking to football.london, Hasselbaink claimed Chelsea need to do more than just add goals to their starting lineup if they want to reach the next level.

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On whether Chelsea need to sign a 'top-class striker', the Blues legend said: "Chelsea needs more goals in them. However you put that in the team, Chelsea needs more goals.

"There are a few games that they don’t score; they don’t have enough shots. I think that’s a combination for the whole team. I think they can improve in that area, but they can also improve by keeping more clean sheets."

Pointing to Chelsea's project, Hasselbaink continued: "The club has decided, rightly or wrongly, to go only young. That is their prerogative. They need to give them time. You need to give that time because you’re not going to get instant success.

"They had a bit of success last year. Nobody expected them to win the World Cup for clubs. They done it and they done it really in a good way. Then you have to build from that.

"You have to build from that, and you need to become stronger. The problem was that the pre-season has been really totally different than the previous ones, and the boys haven’t had rest."

Hasselbaink added: "So, you need to factor all those kinds of things in. But the most important thing is, Chelsea needs to finish in the Champions League [spots] for next year."

Chelsea are in grave danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League, with six points separating them from Aston Villa in fourth. Fortunately for the Blues, fifth could be enough to secure a place in Europe's top-flight competition, so long as England remain top of the UEFA coefficient at the end of the campaign.

Just a point separates Liverpool from Liam Rosenior's side in sixth, meaning everything is still to play for...

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is backing the Football Safety app – a platform founded by former England striker Emile Heskey to report abuse in and around football. Organisations, leagues, clubs and supporter groups can register their interest at www.footballsafetyapp.com.