Chelsea could sign “one of Europe’s best strikers” for £58m

IN Cole Palmer, Chelsea they have one of the biggest talents in Europe. A talisman guiding the club towards a glorious future and regular positions to win silverware.

Manchester City it must be boiling. Pep Guardiola couldn’t guarantee the young playmaker the minutes he wanted after showing great potential on the wings, so Chelsea raised eyebrows when forking out £42.5 million to bring him to Stamford Bridge in August 2023.

67 games later, Three lions superstar has scored 38 goals and recorded 21 assists in Chelsea jersey, with Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher naming the 22-year-old “the best player in the Premier League” earlier in the season.

He was sensational this season (Palmer, not Carragher) but he may not be the best player in the world Premier League has to offer. Not quite. Not yet. Mohamed Salah he was ridiculous in front of the Liverpool goal.

Chelsea learned from their mistakes and took City’s superstar in the making, something the four-time champions will regret for years, as Chelsea let Salah go once before he had grown into his skin.

When Chelsea sold Mohamed Salah

Chelsea signed Salah over ten years ago, bringing in the talented winger from Basel for a fee of £11m in 2014. Jose Mourinho’s interest was piqued after he scored against the Blues in the Champions League.

Now a Liverpool superstar, Salah didn’t look like he would become a standout Premier League player, with Mourinho even says that the Egyptian should have “raised his level”.

He scored just twice in 19 appearances for Chelsea, and after a couple of productive loan spells in Italy, he was sold to Roma for around £12mturning the marginal profit for the peripheral player.

How Chelsea must regret how it turned out. At least in Palmer, Chelsea have indeed righted their former mistakes. And in any case, with Enzo Maresca looking to improve their exciting squad, the Londoners have chosen Salah’s natural successor and could make a leap this year.

Chelsea eyes “new Salah”

According to weekend reports from Caught OffsideChelsea are in the race to sign Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush, who according to analyst David Segar was “one of the best European strikers” this season and is valued at €70m (£58m).

Liverpool have followed the Egyptian sensation’s progress from the start of the season with Salah to the final year of his contract, although Manchester City are now stepping up the gas as they prepare to rebuild.

That said, Chelsea are firmly in the picture, albeit on the outside, and could look set to make a move, especially considering he’s dubbed the “new Salah” journalist Andres Weiss.

Why Chelsea should sign Omar Marmoush

Marmoush was on fire this season, scoring 18 goals and 12 assists in 24 games in all competitions. He has already won two German Bundesliga Player of the Month awards as he boosts Frankfurt’s Champions League push.

How interesting that his compatriot Salah is the only player in Europe’s top five leagues this season to have scored more goals than him, making a telling comment on how clinical he has been – especially considering he has played 15 games, four less than Salah and five fewer than Palmer.

According to FBrefMarmoush also ranks in the top 1% of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot creation actions, top 5% for progressive passing and top 3% for successful take-ons per 90, highlighting both the athleticism and underlying creative quality that also make Salah so special.

Marmoush carries the hallmarks of an elite-level Premier League striker and could revolutionize Chelsea’s front line, wreaking havoc with Palmer behind him as a sort of creative muse.

Of course, Chelsea have something of an overload of talented strikers within Maresca’s squad, and any move should not come at the expense of Nicolas Jackson, 23, who has shown much promise this year.

However, given Marmoush’s fluidity and multiple attacking qualities, he could be the perfect upgrade to Christopher Nkunkuwho has struggled to find a place in Chelsea’s Premier League squad this season.

Nkunku has been plagued by injuries since joining Chelsea at the start of last season, and while scored 12 goals in 27 games this term only two came to the Premier League.

Struggling to identify a role within the team, Nkunku played in four positions for Chelsea, most productively in the number ten role usually occupied by Palmer.

Given that the French international lacks the physicality to survive as a Premier League striker, he averages just 1.2 successful tackles per game, according to Sofascorewith a 40% success rate, Chelsea would be wise to act quickly, leapfrog suitors such as Liverpool and City to get their mitts on one of Europe’s prized possessions and continue to promote the exciting Maresco project.