Thierry Henry highlights why Chelsea should move for £43m Romelu Lukaku alternative

Thierry Henry believes Gabriel Jesus' "number nine instinct" would make him the perfect summer signing for Chelsea.

Jesus has been heavily linked with an exit from the Etihad Stadium and while Arsenal, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Tottenham are all interested in signing the 56-time Brazil international, Chelsea are also linked with acquiring him as a potential replacement for Romelu Lukaku.

The Blues re-signed Lukaku from Inter Milan last summer for £97.5million but the Belgian failed to find the glistening form he has enjoyed for his country, scoring just eight Premier League goals in the 2021/22 campaign.

Lukaku has been heavily linked with a move back to Inter this summer and if he does, Jesus may be a great replacement, with City reportedly wanting £43m for his services.

In April 2022, Jesus scored four goals in a 5-1 win over Watford, and after that game, Henry was full of praise for Jesus.

"What he can give offensively to the team," Henry told CBS Sport about what he liked about Jesus. "We saw that he scored four goals at the weekend [vs Watford ]. When he is in the box, he's one of the three that is playing, or since [Sergio] Aguero left, he has that [number] nine instinct. He has what the number nine would smell.

"What I like with him is that he puts pressure, whether it's on the left, on the right or in the middle. He doesn't have a problem to defend in those situations by coming back and helping his team."

Jesus is a four-time Premier League winner since joining City from Palmeiras in January 2017. Of his 159 Premier League outings for the Sky Blues, the forward has started just 99 times in England's top flight.

In that time, Jesus has scored 58 goals in the Premier League and has the 17th best