Chelsea have spent much of the early summer being linked with a move for Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
It’s been no secret that new manager Enzo Maresca wants to start the season with another out-and-out striker in his ranks alongside Nicolas Jackson. That man could be Atletico Madrid’s 20-year-old forward Samu Omorodion.
All 7 of Samu Omorodion 🇪🇸🇳🇬(2004)'s goals for Alavés:pic.twitter.com/dveCP37FQP
— Football Report (@FootballReprt) February 6, 2024
“He has often been compared to former Chelsea and Atlético striker Diego Costa, but his favourite player is teammateAntoine Griezmann,” Transfermarkt Area manager in Spain Iván Turmo explained.
According to The Athletic, the Blues reportedly had a bid of €32.5 million + add-ons rejected by the Spanish club, but remain interested in the Spain youth international.
The striker spent last season on loan at Deportivo Alaves, where he scored nine goals in 35 appearances, and saw his market value rise all the way from €200k to €35m across the campaign.
Only Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham scored more goals in the top five leagues than Omorodion from players aged 20 or under.
It’s been a meteoric rise for the youngster, and he could have all the attributes to thrive in thePremier League in the future.
Omorodion’s sensational 2023/24 season actually began in bizarre fashion. After spending his time playing with Granada B, he made his La Liga debut on the opening matchday against Atlético. Diego Simeone’s team came out 3-1 victors, but Omorodion scored and caused numerous problems for the Atlético defence.
So much so that straight after that game Atlético Madrid splashed out €6m to bring him to the Wanda Metropolitano before sending the teenager (at the time) on loan to Alavés.
“He played so well that the Colchonero team did not hesitate and signed him immediately. It was a career changing performance.” Transfermarkt’s Turmo explained.
Omorodion excelled at Alavés, becoming one of the team’s key players as they secured a tenth place finish.
Turmo revealed what kind of player the striker is:
“Despite his large stature, Omorodion is one of the fastest players in La Liga. He is great in the air and uses his big frame intelligently to win duels and hold it up to get his team up the pitch.
“He is always a danger to the opposition, and is a real threat on the counter-attack, exploiting space in behind.”
Whilst Jackson himself held the ball up at times well for Chelsea last season, and looked a threat on the counter, he looked very raw and failed to capitalise on some of the good positions he got in.
With his current market value of €35m, he is the most valuable player at Atlético Madrid.
A statistic that seems surprising, but speaks volumes about his talent.
“He is undoubtedly one of the great jewels of Spanish football.” Turmo claimed.
“That is how Atletico understood it and paid the €6m release clause just after the first league game where Atlético played against Granada.
“During his loan at Alavés he has acquired his first experience among the elite, and from what we saw surely he could adapt very well to the Premier League.”
Chelsea could be plucking a gem, but would be adding more depth to an already bloated squad, and would surely need some outgoings to finance the move when it comes to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability (PSR) rules.
