Samuel Eto'o - Could he be the signing of the summer?

Samuel Eto’o may just turn the tide in Chelsea’s favour

There has been a sense of excitement and anticipation at Stamford Bridge since the return of the Special One. Chelsea have got off to a pretty good start this season with a couple of home wins and an away draw at Manchester United that highlighted two things- Jose Mourinho’s impeccable tactics and the short comings of Chelsea’s attack.

Chelsea have, without doubt, one of the strongest squads in Europe going into this season. Captain and leader John Terry is showing signs that he is getting back to his best and has formed a strong partnership in defense with fellow countryman Gary Cahill.

The creativity and depth Chelsea possess in midfield (strengthened by their new signings) is frightening for other clubs. Then the question arises – Why weren’t they able to score? Well the answer to that is quite obvious – Chelsea don’t have a striker who is scoring! They have been having this problem for a while now with Torres consistently misfiring.

When Jose returned to Chelsea, one of his major objectives was to help Torres re-discover his goal scoring form that had made him one of the finest forwards in Europe. Well, that hasn’t happened and Jose realizes that,which is why Chelsea have signed Samuel Eto’o from Anzhi on a one-year-deal.

Samuel Eto’o is exactly what Chelsea needed – a striker who can finish off their plays. Eto’o has got predatory instincts in front of goal, which has made him one of the deadliest finishers in Europe. He has the experience (something that Chelsea have thrived on over the years) to lead the Chelsea attack. Another plus point is that Mourinho has worked with Eto’o at Inter and will help him settle into the team very quickly.

Eto’o scored 129 goals in 201 appearances for Barcelona. In 2009, he transferred to Inter (as part of the deal that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic go the other way) and scored 53 goals in 101 appearances over two seasons. In 2011, he moved to Russian side Anzhi, making him the highest paid footballer in the world.

Now, he has taken a huge pay cut to be re-united with his former coach and is raring to go at Chelsea. Although he hasn’t played in Europe’s top leagues for the past two years, Chelsea fans will be hoping he will be back to his best soon.

A lot of people are saying that he’s too old, so what? For me, the most important quality of a striker is his confidence. He need not score 30+ goals a season, but he should be able to combine well with the rest of the team, get into positions where the attacking midfielders can find him and the goals will come automatically.

With the likes of Mata, Hazard and Oscar supporting him,Samuel Eto’o will get a lot of scoring opportunities. If he can convert those chances into goals, he might just prove to be the signing of the summer and lead Chelsea to the Premier league title.

Exciting times lie ahead at Stamford bridge and the future looks bright for Chelsea.

KTBFFH!