We reported yesterday about claims that Chelsea are interested in Getafe striker Christantus Uche, and that buzz has continued today.
CaughtOffside claim that we see him as the “new Didier Drogba,” although we see more similarities to one of our current options in attack.
The report is that the 21 year old could come to join us in January for a fee of around €25m. He began his career as a midfielder, but has often been used as a forward by Getafe to make the most of his 1.90m height. He has just one senior goal to his name, having played 800 minutes this season for the side from the outskirts of Madrid.
It seems his future will be as a striker – and given the whispers, it seems that’s what Chelsea would recruit him for. We certainly aren’t wanting for more attacking midfielders.
Another raw talent ready to be fashioned into a top player
What makes this rumour so convincing is how it lines up with our transfer policy and with our other targets of the past couple of years.
In Nicolas Jackson, the sporting directors spotted a talented player who was just starting to break out in Spain. He was very inexperienced and very raw, but they took a risk on the obvious gifts he had, and it’s paying off.
It was a similar story with Samu Omorodion last summer – young, very gifted, but still raw enough to be a bargain buy. The fact we went for both of those strikers means that a move for Uche makes sense in a similar vein.
No matter how well Jackson continues to do, we will be looking for a player with a similar profile to back him up, and whether that ends up being Uche or not, he certainly fits the bill.
