Despite his now infamous open criticism of the strike force at his disposal, Jose Mourinho must still have been able to observe the irony of Demba Ba scoring the winning goal for Chelsea in the their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint Germain on Tuesday night.
“Ah yes”, he would have thought to himself. “I knew I had a striker who could score somewhere in this squad.”
Samuel Eto’o has been by far the most effective Chelsea striker this season and he has scored some crucial goals. Demba Ba simply hasn’t been afforded the opportunity. And the artist formerly known as Fernando Torres continues to show what good value he is for £50m.
It is no secret that Mourinho is intending to clear out some strikers in the summer to make some room for new forwards, with Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa and Monaco’s Falcao supposedly heading up his wishlist. Indeed, it is conceivable that all three strikers currently in Chelsea’s squad could be replaced by three new faces by the time the new season comes around.
So what better time than before the current season has even finished than to start those transfer rumours? That’s right, the rumour mill never stops when it comes to transfers, and it appears that Turkish club Besitkas are eyeing up a double swoop for both Eto’o and Ba this summer.
Eto’o will probably go anywhere if you paid enough, and Ba was be gasping for first team football. So if Besiktas have the money than, this may very well happen.