Chelsea have all but confirmed the signing of Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid. This adds to the two strikers they already have at the club in the shape of Demba Ba and Fernando Torres. Some might say that is a fantastic amount of depth, as all have proved they are capable of scoring goals on a regular occasion. The slightly more sceptical will argue that Ba and Torres have been out-of-form for a couple of seasons and should be sold to make funds for someone who is firing right now.
Crucially, though, Jose Mourinho believes something entirely different, according to the tabloids. It looks like Mourinho will keep Torres and Ba, add Costa and then bring in someone else. Plenty of strikers have been linked with the club, including Mario Mandzukic and Mario Balotelli. It proves that Jose isn’t stopping at Costa. The player that could be in the frame for a move to Stamford Bridge is Emmanuel Emenike, according to the Express.
I think it is fantastic that Mourinho isn’t settling for just Diego Costa in terms of attack-minded signings, but I don’t feel that Emenike is the right man to chase. He is too similar to Costa, which isn’t what Chelsea need. If they are intent on a bringing another striker into the club, he has to provide a different threat. Costa and Emenike use their strength, awareness and positioning to their advantage. While not being the quickest, they seem to break free from defenders an awful lot.
Ideally, they like the ball played to their feet so they can hold it up and bring others into play. However, they don’t mind making a cutting run behind the back line if needs be. What I think Chelsea need is a player that will always look for the runs in behind, so if using Costa isn’t working they can change the tactics and personnel to confuse the opposition.
While Emenike is good, he is not the man that the Blues need to complement Costa.