Nobody saw it coming, we never included Cesc in our plans at least as far as the fans are aware although it was blatant that we “lacked a player of Fabregas mould and quality at Chelsea” even according to our own players Fernando Torres and Azpilicueta. Jose Mourinho believes Cesc makes our midfield “complete”.
‘He is the kind of player we need,’ said Mourinho, ‘not just for his qualities as a player but also his competitive personality.
‘He is a player in the best years of his career. He knows England well, he knows the Premier League well, so he will not need time to adapt.
‘He is the kind of player who will come and train for a couple of weeks and be ready to prove himself.’
If what the manager says is anything to go by then Fabregas acquisition was hugely anticipated by the club especially with the exit of Frank Lampard who offered everything on the pitch as well as in the dressing room. Having captained Arsenal and represented both Barcelona and the Spanish national team at the highest stage, Cesc can bring a lot to the team both on and off the pitch. Since we missed out on Luka Modric, Chelsea have suffered from an unbalanced central midfield when playing the two holding midfielders formation (4-2-3-1). With Cesc in the fold, we all can agree that he will make a comfortable pair with Matic and he can also move up there behind the striker when Oscar is not available. Thank you Mr. Wenger, for passing such an opportunity to us, maybe it was a token to us for giving him Benayoun. We will happily grab it and make use if such an icon on modern football, if you doubt it check Cesc’s 6.5 million followers on twitter and on Facebook which even surpasses that of our official Chelsea twitter handle. That is the player we signed. With a fee less than Erik Lamela and equal to Fellaini’s.
The question people ask is what next after Cesc? First of all we must acknowledge the fact that signing Fabregas alone to offer some assists and bus-parking splitting passes against the Westhams of this world is even enough to close the 4 points between us an City but they are not our benchmark for success. Jose Mourinho has promised to challenge for the title this season and not as a “little horse” so we have our own plans for success. The club have shown their intention of buying a striker which has been a well known objective and it looks as if Diego Costa is the main target judging from what Jose has openly said about him that “I need him in my team”. And with Costa saying his “future lies with Chelsea more than Atletico”, it’s becoming one of the worst kept secrets in football transfer. The 32 goals hitter of the Spanish Champions and Champions Leagu finalists, Atletico Madrid, has all the attributes to fill the huge void of Drogba in our team. Forget about the World Cup which didn’t go well for Spain, he is still the most in-form striker in the world apart from Luis Suarez. He has the aggression, height, pace and technique (which almost every Brazilian born has) to thrive in the league and with our counter attacking style of play which suites him like in Atletico, just let’s wait for the official confirmation and we will see what happens when the league starts. 3 good things about him will be that, 1. He is a typical Jose player 2. He is in the perfect years of his career (25) and 3. He is a super counter attacking player.
With the absence of Ashley Cole it’s apparent that we need a natural left back although Azpi did a fantastic job there. The only name thrown to us is Felipe Luis and recently, a Steua Bucharest player I can’t spell his name (all I know is his name ends with vic). Some credible reporters believe the deal for Luis is a done deal though. Other targets we have been linked to include Toni Kroos, while I know it’s a signing too good to be true, I still believe it is possible if England believed they could qualify after losing two games in the World Cup.
Talking of World Cup, there have been a lot of surprises which include the early exit of the defending champions Spain, on the bright side of it, our players and target in the team, Azpi, Torres, Fabregas and Costa can have a good rest and prepare for the pre-season. We also have a good number of players in the Brazil squad with Oscar leading the charge with great performance. Ramires, Willian and David Luiz. Well we didn’t see it coming, did we? After losing his position at the back to Gary Cahill and John Terry, David Luiz had to make do in the midfield in the absence of Matic in the Champions League. Although we combined him with Matic in some crucial matches, that approach could hardly be repeated this season with the acquisition of natural midfielders. So, well, one could say we could have still kept him judging from some of hi good performances especially against the club he is joining PSG, but hey we are talking a bout €50 million thrown at you for a defender you can do without. Come on, it’s the best business we have ever conducted especially when the Financial Fail Play is upon us and Manchester City and PSG becoming the prime victims to suffer the consequences. That money is enough to acquire Fabregas and Toni Kroos. Just imagine, won’t you personally ride Luiz on your bicycle to Paris and come for Toni Kroos + Fabregas?
Jose and his second seasons have been nothing but great. The Special One is quietly preparing for the challenge ahead after using the first season to assess the team we had. So far, his signings have been top. The club has shown a strong commitment and ambition to rule Europe once more. The EPL is something we miss at the Bridge, let’s bring it back to Stamford Bridge Jose!
KTBFFH! Carefree!
Seth A. Adusei (@sethaadusei)
