Despite some initial hope that stemmed from the influx of promising young players and the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino, it would be fair to describe the 2023/24 season as a disaster for Chelsea, at least at the moment.
The Blues have won their last three Premier League games on the bounce, and with the proper transfers this month, there is a chance, albeit very slight, that they could make a late push for the Champions League places.
Luckily for Pochettino and fans alike, it would appear as if the club has already been making inroads regarding transfers, and the latest player touted for a move to Stamford Bridge could follow in the footsteps of a Blues great, Salomon Kalou.
Chelsea eye star from Salomon Kalou’s old side
According to the Mirror (17/01/2024, 05:39), several Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, are linked to Feyenoord’s free-scoring frontman Santiago Gimenez.
Alongside the Pensioners, the report has named Arsenal, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur as the other interested parties, and Football Insider has reported that a transfer would likely cost between £30m and £40m.
While the competition might pose a problem for the Stamford Bridge side, it’s unlikely that the fee will, considering Todd Boehly and Co’s tendency to splash the cash once they have identified a target.
If the club can get this deal over the line, the Mexican might just be able to follow in the footsteps of Kalou, who joined from the Dutch side back in 2006, before becoming a cult hero in west London.
How Santiago Gimenez could replicate Kalou’s Chelsea legacy
With Chelsea’s desperation for a goalscorer being so acute, practically any striker with a half-decent strike rate would dramatically improve the side. Luckily for them, however, Gimenez looks to be anything but just ‘any’ striker.
The “Mexican Machine”, as dubbed by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, has been on fire for Feyenoord for the last two seasons, scoring 15 goals and providing two assists as they won the Eredivisie last year, and he has already reached 19 goals and four assists this campaign.
In the six years that Kalou spent at Chelsea, he made 254 appearances, 107 of which were as a substitute, and along with an impressive haul of 60 goals, he won practically everything there was to win, including Chelsea’s first Champions League title, which just so happened to come on his final appearance for the club.
Now, with the Ivorian being a left-winger and Gimenez being an out-and-out striker, it should be relatively straightforward for him to break Kalou’s goal record, but winning the number of titles he did is another story.
That said, the “simply amazing” number nine, as described by Kulig, does have the underlying numbers to back up his output and suggest that with the right teammates, he could help fire the Blues back to the heady heights of Kalou’s time.
Santiago Gimenez’s Underlying Numbers per 90 | |
|---|---|
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists | 1.07 |
Non-Penalty Goals | 1.18 |
Assists | 0.26 |
Shots on Target | 2.03 |
Shot-Creating Actions | 2.55 |
Goal-Creating Actions | 0.52 |
Successful Take-Ons | 0.92 |
Aerial Duels Won | 1.18 |
All Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Domestic Season | |
For example, he comfortably outperforms his non-penalty expected goals and assists figure, which suggests that he is as clinical as his goal record would have you believe.
Moreover, he takes 2.03 shots on target per 90 whilst also producing 2.55 shot-creating actions per 90 for his team, showing that he is frequently involved in the action.
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Ultimately, if the fee is in the £30m to £40m range, Chelsea should be going all out to sign Gimenez, especially if he can replicate the success of Kalou.
