Should Chelsea Target Fiorentina forward Giuseppe Rossi?

Giuseppe Rossi

Fiorentina are adored by football hipsters (and, in truth, footballs fans in general) across Europe for their attractive, attacking style of play which has seen them become one of the most dangerous offensive sides in Serie A. Under Vincenzo Montella, the Florence club have scored 27 goals in their 14 games this season and, last time out, enjoyed a thrilling 4-3 victory over Verona.

Part of the reason for this attacking success is the prowess of Giuseppe Rossi. Once of Manchester United, Rossi moved from Villarreal to Fiorentina in January of this year but failed to make an appearance until the final game of the 2012-13 season due to an injury picked up during his time in Spain. Now, Rossi has been linked with a move back to England, and Chelsea may look to continue their seemingly everlasting search for a striker to replace Didier Drogba by meeting the €35 million release fee in the Italian’s contract.

With a Performance Score of 461, it is evident that Rossi is an excellent striker. The 26-year-old plays an integral part in his dynamic Fiorentina team, and as such should adapt to life at Chelsea well if he makes the move there; it appears as though he is capable of functioning as the focal point of an attacking force. As seen in his heat map against Verona, Rossi is an animated character on the field, which suggests that he would be able to act as the active striker for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.

Rossi’s desire to buzz around all areas of the pitch make him an excellent striker who should do well for Chelsea. As seen in the above visual, he does not spend all his time in the opposition’s penalty area, but rather floats in late to get on the end of crosses or waits to run on to through balls – this has proved extremely successful this season, primarily due to Rossi’s excellent, instinctive movement, resulting in the Italian scoring on 12 occasions. It is apparent, from this, that he would be a good buy for Chelsea.

This relatively deep position for a striker, however, also means that Rossi can be used as a creative outlet, a fact which manifests itself in his 17 created chances this season – only Borja Valero has generated more for Fiorentina this season. At Chelsea, this ability to link-up with other attackers would bring the exceptional talents of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar into play more frequently and consequently make the Blues’ attacks more dangerous.

Whilst Rossi’s diminutive figure makes him a weak aerial presence, this is not something which would prove too detrimental to Chelsea’s game should he be brought in to Stamford Bridge. Having won just six of a possible 41 headers this season, it is apparent that the 26-year-old is not the striker to front a crossing-based attack; however, Chelsea play quite a central game (see pass graph below) and this would be more suited to Rossi’s style of play – it would enable him to use his goalscoring and creative talents without inhibiting the Blues’ overall performance and philosophy. For this reason, the 5ft 8in Italian could be the perfect signing for Mourinho’s team.

Chelsea Action Areas vs Sunderland 2013

Rossi is now an established striker on the European scene and a return to England may show Premier League supporters what they have missed since he left Manchester United in 2007; based on the above evidence, this is a real possibility should Mourinho opt to spend Roman Abramovic’s fortune and bring the striker to Chelsea.