It’s been a summer to remember for Chelsea so far this year.
Enzo Maresca’s side capped off a great season by winning the revamped Club World Cup, and the board have been incredibly busy in the transfer market.
For example, the likes of Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens were all through the door before they lifted the rather extravagant trophy in the US last month.
However, the Blues aren’t done there, as they’ve almost wrapped up the signing of Jorrel Hato and are closing in on another young talent who could be an even more exciting acquisition.
Chelsea close in on exciting talent
As things stand, it looks like the next transfer Chelsea are set to complete this summer is the one for Hato.
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The deal was given the ‘here we go’ treatment by transfers expert Fabrizio Romano yesterday evening, who revealed that the Dutchman has agreed to a “long term deal” at Stamford Bridge, and is set to cost “in excess of €40m,” which is about £35m.
There is no doubt that signing such a highly-rated young defender is exciting and will give Maresca plenty of options at the back, but the Blues aren’t finished there, and now look set to close a deal for another, even more exciting young player.
At least that is according to a recent report from Sports Zone, which claims that Chelsea are very interested in signing Emanuel Emegha.
In fact, the report goes a step further, revealing that the West Londoners are now “closing in on an agreement over personal terms” for a transfer that would take place next summer.
It’s not clear how much the Strasbourg striker would cost the Conference League champions, but Transfermarkt value him at around €25m, which is about £22m.
He might not be a well-known name to Premier League fans, but Emegha looks to be a tremendously promising young striker, and someone who could well be an even more exciting signing than Hato.
Why Emegha would be a more exciting signing than Hato
So, the first thing to say is that we’re are not disputing that Hato is a seriously exciting addition to this Chelsea squad, as at just 19 years old he already has 111 senior club appearances to his name.
However, two things really get fans on their feet in football, and they are goals and players that can make things happen in an attacking sense, which just so happen to be two things Emegha can do.
For example, when it comes to the first, he managed to rack up an impressive tally of 14 goals and three assists in just 27 Ligue 1 appearances, totalling 2307 minutes, last season.
Appearances
27
Minutes
2307
Goals
14
Assists
3
Goal Involvements per Match
0.62
Minutes per Goal Involvement
135.70′
In other words, despite starting the campaign at just 21 years old, the Dutch centre-forward was able to average a goal involvement every 1.58 games, or every 135.70 minutes.
When it comes to the latter point, we can see in his underlying numbers that he is more than just a poacher as well.
According to FBref, he also sits in the top 11% of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, for carries into the penalty area per 90.
This suggests that, in addition to finishing chances at a reasonable rate, the “simply phenomenal” gem, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is also brilliant at getting the ball into dangerous areas.
Finally, according to respected analyst Ben Mattinson, the 22-year-old dynamo is also a “pacy runner” who’s brilliant at getting “in behind” defences, which is always the kind of player who’ll get fans up on their feet.
Ultimately, both Hato and Emegha are seriously promising talents, but given his position and goalscoring ability, it’s hard to deny that the latter would be the more exciting signing.
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