THE prospect of trying to follow in Nicky Ajose’s footsteps up front for Swindon Town was a daunting one this season but the current crop of strikers have so far failed miserably in their efforts to do so.

Jonathan Obika, Nathan Delfouneso and Luke Norris have mustered just three goals in all competitions, with the latter still having failed to find the net at all.

Keeping hold of Ajose and the 25 goals he netted last term was always going to be difficult but Town did at least have a reported £800,000 to soften the blow once he did move on to Charlton.

However, only a small portion of that fee has actually been re-invested in his replacements as Norris was signed from Gillingham for £150,000, while Delfouneso arrived on a free transfer.

Neither player has hardly pulled up many trees in front of goal in recent seasons and have not looked like doing so in their brief spells at the County Ground.

With Premier League appearances and an England U21 career under his belt, Delfouneso should be a diamond in the rough, just looking for that right club to sparkle at. However, so far the only cheer he has given fans is a solitary goal in the EFL Trophy.

He has quick feet and a good footballing brain but never seems to make that killer run into the box and instead prefers to pull out wide and make space for others.

Norris, meanwhile, looks bereft of confidence as the weight of that first Town goal rests heavily on his shoulders and he has made a mess of multiple chances he has had to open his account already.

It is not that the opportunities are not there for Town’s front players, there have been plenty of good deliveries for them to feed on, it’s just that what should be a striker’s natural instinct to be on a red alert in the box seems to have deserted these two at present.

Obika provided an excellent foil for Ajose last term and can still hold his head up high.

Although he has never been prolific, he has at least done his bit by registering two goals in the limited game time he has seen because of a spate of injuries, including a current knee problem.

With two of their front-line strikers badly out of form at present, perhaps it would be a good chance to throw some young blood in.

Jermaine Hylton has yet to truly look like making the cut as a League One player so far in his Town career but he can’t do any worse than Luke Williams’ other striking options at present – the only problem is, he has been farmed out on loan.

What do you think the problem is at Swindon Town?

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