LONDON, England, March 31- Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hinted at an overhaul of his striking department after seeing their Premier League title hopes knocked back over the weekend.
The Blues’ failure to regularly find the back of the net this term has been an unwanted theme, highlighted by the shock 1-0 loss to relegation threatened Crystal Palace on Saturday.
That result allowed Liverpool to take over at the summit following their 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham 24 hours later, and with Mourinho having seen the majority of his side’s goals come from midfield, the Portuguese tactician admits an out-and-out striker is top of his wishlist.
“I don’t think it’s the moment to speak about next season and the market but it’s clear to everybody that Chelsea next year wants to bring a striker,” said Mourinho.
“What’s the future for the other strikers? The ones who are staying are competing with the striker we are bringing [in]. And normally, at the end of the season, players that are not playing a lot or players who are not happy may prefer a change.
“That is also part of the market. We want to improve the team and the players and make some surgical movements in the transfer window.
“It’s also clear that we want to improve our players. I can’t and I don’t need to improve (Branislav) Ivanovic, (Gary) Cahill, John Terry.
“There are other guys I need to improve. I think we are doing that step by step, but it’s not enough to be champions.”