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Enzo Maresca will officially take over the reins as Chelsea manager in a fortnight’s time and work is underway behind the scenes to strengthen the first-team squad left behind by Mauricio Pochettino.
A busy summer of comings and goings is expected upon the Italian’s arrival and centre-forward has been identified as a key area of focus for the transfer window at Stamford Bridge.
Since Todd Boehly’s takeover in 2022, over £1billion has been spent on new recruits and that figure is likely to rise significantly over the coming weeks and months as Chelsea strive to close the gap on the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
Nicolas Jackson, a £32million arrival from Villarreal 12 months ago, managed 17 goals in all competitions in a mixed debut season in west London and the club are minded to be patient with the 22-year-old Senegal international.
Chelsea’s hierarchy are, though, keen to bring in an additional striker to ease the load on Jackson next term and the latest player to be heavily linked with the Blues is Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion.
Supporters could be forgiven for having to Google Omorodion’s name as reports of a proposed move began circulating this week given the 20-year-old is yet to really make a mark on the global stage – but he is undoubtedly a player of huge potential.
The Athletic claim Chelsea have had an opening bid of €32.5million (£27.4m) plus add-ons rejected for Omorodion, underlining just how highly Atleti rate their young marksman.
Background
Omorodion was born in Melilla, an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast, to Nigerian parents on May 5, 2004.
He relocated to Seville at a young age with his single mum and sister and his deep love of football grew while living in the city of Andalusia.
After turning out for local team AD Nervion, Omorodion would go on to join Granada’s youth setup in 2021 and his mother has spoken about their humble beginnings and how tough it was for her son in his early years.
‘There were times when there was no money. There was no money to pay for the bus and Samuel had to walk back [from training]. I was here for waiting all night and sometimes Samuel arrived at 12 in the morning,’ she recently told Estadio Deportivo.
Excelling through Granada’s youth ranks, Omorodion had long been tipped for a big future in the game and his breakthrough came in March 2022 as he was introduced as a substitute for the reserves against Marchamalo.
Though Granada lost that day, the youngster made an immediate impression with coaching staff and soon became a regular for Recreativo Granada, the club’s B team, notching his first senior goal versus El Ejido.
Omorodion never looked back from this point on and the attacker’s tally of 18 goals for Recreativo Granada across the 2022/23 campaign attracted the attentions of a host of top teams around Europe.
His extraordinary rise continued on a rapid trajectory as he scored on his full La Liga debut for Granada – a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid last August.
It would prove to be Omorodion’s one and only appearance for Granada’s first-team. Atletico Madrid clearly saw something special that day and signed the Spaniard on a permanent deal the following week.
‘I played against them on a Monday and on Tuesday they told me that they wanted me and the next week everything was closed. It was very fast,’ he later told AS.
‘They told me and I didn’t believe it. But if it happened like that it’s because it had to happen. I was quite calm because I knew it was a unique opportunity.’
However, Omorodion was immediately sent on a season-long loan to Alaves as Diego Simeone was unable to guarantee regular playing time in Madrid, with the likes of Alvaro Morata, Antoine Griezmann and Memphis Depay competing for minutes.
Goalscoring record
Omorodion made a name for himself scoring goals by the bucketload as he rose through Granada’s academy ranks and his outstanding record continued for the club’s B team.
In his first full season for Recreativo Granada, the forward racked up 18 goals in 33 appearances to finish as the Segunda Federacion’s top scorer, helping his side earn promotion to the Primera Federacion.
As mentioned, his goalscoring exploits earned Omorodion a promotion to Granada’s first-team and the forward found the net on the opening day of the La Liga 2022/23 campaign with an clinical finish past Jan Oblak in a 3-1 loss to Atletico Madrid.
After being signed by Atleti and sent on loan last term, Omorodion ended the season with a return of eight goals in 35 appearances as Alaves finished tenth in the Spanish top flight.
Omorodion is yet to make his bow for Spain’s senior team but has impressed with Spain’s Under-21 team, netting twice in his opening five appearances for Santi Denia’s side.
Playing style
Standing at 6 ft 4 in, Omorodion is an imposing centre-forward blessed with great physicality, aerial prowess, speed and agility, a combination which has given many experienced defenders nightmares at the start of his career.
The Spain U21 international has also been praised for his tenacious work ethic and has a reputation for tirelessly pressing his opponents, which could suit Maresca’s style of play should a move to Stamford Bridge materialise.
In the final third, there is room for improvement, with Omorodion’s end product still a little raw.
But he has shown that he is able to finish with both feet and has exceptional movement inside the penalty area – often finishing plays with his first touch.
What has been said about the young striker?
Atletico Madrid briefly explored the possibility of recalling Omorodion midway through his loan spell last term and Diego Simeone spoke highly of the player in an interview with AS in October.
‘You can see him evolving in the games we’ve followed involving Alaves,’ the Atleti head coach said.
‘He’s a young guy, strong, with a lot of speed in long spaces and very good play in the box with his body.
‘Let’s hope he does well at Alaves, because he has a future with Atletico. He spent only a few days with us but he looks humble and hardworking. He will be an important player.’
Last month, Spain U21 head coach Denia praised Omorodion’s character as he discussed the possibility of selecting the attacker in his squad for this summer’s Olympic Games.
‘He has many options. He has also earned it. I think he has had a very good year at Alaves,’ Denia told the Spanish media.
‘I think he has had a very good year at Alaves. With us he has been a starter and has contributed a lot to us. We like a player of that profile in such a short competition.
‘He is a very good kid and those human characteristics are very important.’
Who else have Chelsea been linked with?
Chelsea have been credited with a strong interest in several high-profile strikers already this summer and Benjamin Sesko was thought to be firmly in the sights of the Blues.
But Sesko put an end to speculation over his future as he put pen to paper on a new contract at RB Leipzig and Chelsea have been forced to explore other avenues in the transfer market.
Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran was heavily linked in January and has returned to the fore in the wake of Sesko’s decision, with recent reports in Colombia claiming a £42m deal had been agreed for the striker.
Duran has been playing second fiddle to Ollie Watkins at Villa Park and is said to be ‘excited’ about the prospect of a switch to Stamford Bridge. It remains to be seen how that story develops.
Victor Osimhen has long been mooted as a possible solution up front but Chelsea face stiff competition for the Napoli star and know a deal would not come cheap, given the player has a release clause worth between €120 million (£102.6m) and €130m (£111.2m) in his contract.
Chelsea are also rumoured to be keen on Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy and Brentford’s Ivan Toney but the club are prioritising other targets for the time being.
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