Angus is an experienced football journalist at Football FanCast, specialising in Premier League reporting, opinion writing and in-depth football analysis. Since graduating from Southampton Solent University in 2022, he has developed extensive experience covering the English game, producing thousands of articles across a wide range of clubs and competitions.  

Before joining Football FanCast, Angus led VAVEL's Brighton & Hove Albion department, gaining valuable experience in club-specific reporting and editorial leadership. He subsequently joined Football FanCast through Snack Media's academy, now part of Valnet, and has progressed into the publication's Opinions and Features team.
 

As one of Football FanCast's longest-serving writers, Angus has covered numerous major developments across the Premier League, combining breaking news experience with detailed features and considered opinions. His work draws on years of reporting to provide context behind performances, transfer activity and the wider issues shaping English football.

At the Stadium of Light on Sunday, Chelsea were bullied by a Sunderland side who came to fight; they did not simply sit back and defend against Xabi Alonso's frontline.

Chelsea have one of the most impressive frontlines in world football, even with Joao Pedro having missed the past three games in the Premier League as he nurses a hamstring issue.

However, the Brazilian's absence has still been keenly felt, with the Blues failing to score in two of three league outings without him.

Against Sunderland, Alonso placed Pedro Neto up top. It was an experiment which bore little fruit for the Spanish tactician, who must surely consider a recognised striker going forward.

Why Alonso must drop Neto as a striker

Joao Pedro has scored five goals and supplied three more across six Premier League matches this season. Alongside his output is incredible close control and remarkable intensity in the duel, having won 7.5 duels per game.

Standing in for the Brazilian, Neto clearly pales in comparison. He is not a striker, and Alonso needs to break away from this stubbornness concerning false-nines in attack. It has had a draining effect on Chelsea's wider frontline; both Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer have been shadows of their superstar versions from only weeks before.

Neto was ineffective up front against Sunderland. It's hardly surprising he lasted all of 62 minutes before being replaced by Danny Welbeck. The Portuguese attacker is fast and direct, but he's not a frontman. He lacked the strong presence needed to thrive in such a role in the Premier League, against a meaty backline such as theirs.

Welbeck, after all, has matured like wine over the past several years with Brighton, but his summer transfer to west London has thus far yielded only one Premier League start, against Brentford back in September.

However, it's not the 35-year-old who Alonso must be handing a starting berth, but instead, the team's new Didier Drogba.

Alonso must unleash Chelsea's new Didier Drogba

Drogba has been retired for eight years, and it's been longer still since he starred as the centrepiece of Chelsea's frontline, winning title upon title, his legacy remains intact as one of English football's most iconic goalscorers.

Now, Chelsea could find that they have a new Drogba to unleash on the Premier League, having welcomed Emmanuel Emegha from Strasbourg this summer after a pre-made agreement in 2025 between the two Clearlake-owned outfits.

The 23-year-old Emegha missed the decisive penalty in a shootout against Liverpool which resulted in Chelsea being knocked out of the Carabao Cup. Nonetheless, he remains a thrilling centre-forward with the potential to emulate Drogba in coming over from France and becoming a superstar in west London.

Let's not forget, Drogba scored 16 goals across 41 appearances in each of his first two seasons at Stamford Bridge, taking his time before developing organically into a global superstar. Back then, he was in a similar position to Emegha is after leaving Strasbourg, prolific in France but determined to secure his place as one of the best strikers in Europe.

Welbeck offers experience and support, but he is a short-term addition to this project. Emegha, however, boasts the potential to stand as one of the best in the business, rangy and physical with an edge in front of goal that saw him score 14 times across 27 Ligue 1 appearances in 2024/25 before finding himself injured for much of last season, still bagging eight goals across 18 games in all competitions.

Now, the onus is on Alonso to actually give Emegha the minutes he deserves. He hasn't been back from injury for long, but has the quality to cement his position as Joao Pedro's understudy and end the experiment which has seen Rogers and Neto chucked into a makeshift centre-forward role over recent weeks.