Fail to prepare, and prepare to fail.
That needs to be the motto that the Blues take into the summer window, whenever the transfer market does officially reopen.
A lot of talk has gone on about Lukas Jutkiewicz’s strike partner Scott Hogan and what his role is going to be through all of this next season, when next season indeed happens. However, I think we do need to talk about Jutkiewicz’s future as well, not just when it comes to the upcoming season, but potentially beyond that as well.
I think that this summer window, we need to start looking at bringing in his long-term replacement.
Now whilst he might have a contract that keeps him at the club until 2022, he is currently 31, statistically his usefulness is only going to decline over the next few years. And let’s not forget that he was being sniffed around during the January transfer window by Nottingham Forest, so there’s always the chance that they, or indeed another club come back in for him, meaning we could see him leave us sooner than expected.
Do we need to look for Juke's replacement this window?
Yes
No
Now whether we do that in the transfer window and try to buy someone that can potentially learn under him for a year or so before they switch places further down the line, or if we are to dip into the academy to bring someone in, I’m not sure. However, I do think that the situation does need to be addressed at some point.
There is no doubting that Jutkiewicz has been a great servant for us, with 44 goals and counting in 164 appearances, with 20 assists on top of that, but this isn’t going to last forever. This isn’t me saying that he needs to be pushed out the door, far from it, but unless we look at how best to replace him, then we are in danger of going backwards.
And given how the rest of the squad seem to be failing to make up any potential shortfall this season, I dread to see what would happen if we don’t get those numbers back in one way or another.
