Chelsea have managed to secure the much touted transfer of striker, Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid at a reported sum of £32 million. The striker was a priority signing for Jose Mourinho, who was looking to bolster his striking options, as they fell short to Manchester City and Liverpool in the race to the Premier League title last season. With Manchester United, City, Liverpool and Arsenal beefing up their squads this summer, let’s take a look at the implications of the Costa transfer.
Player Profile:
Costa is coming off the back of a brilliant campaign with Atletico Madrid, helping them win the La Liga, and scoring an astounding 36 goals in all competitions. In his previous three seasons, Costa has had a goal scoring average of 0.64 goals per match,despite being a first choice striker, only this season. He has mainly played in the Portuguese and Spanish League through most of his career. Although the pace of the Premier League could take some time getting used to, his style of play will suit that of Chelsea’s. Moreover, he is also well accustomed to the physical aspect of the game.
Chelsea’s Requirement:
Despite Mourinho’s strategy of defending and waiting for an opportunity to counter being criticized time and again, it’s seems that football is now moving into the “high work rate” era. However, for this strategy to work, the finishing abilities of the striker upfront is crucial. With Torres, Eto and Ba lacking in this departmentlast season, Chelsea ended up losing points against the smaller teams that were happy to play out a draw. Costa’s key skills that will be beneficial to Chelsea will be his prowess to be a sublime finisher and a major threat on counter attacks. Moreover, his ability to hold back the opposition defenders and bring in the likes of Hazard, Fabregas, Willian and Oscar into the attack will prove to be beneficial.
Financial Quotient:
When you can sell a defender for £50 million and get the top striker of the European season for £32 million, who is to question regarding Financial Fairplay? No doubt, that Costa’s form is only two seasons old, however with the market prices inflated, getting him at a cut price was good business for the West London club.
Prediction:
Having had a dismal performance at the World Cup, critics are quick to point out the fact that this could be another Torres signing. However, let’s not forget that Spain play Tiki Taka while Chelsea play a style suited to Costa. Moreover, the striker wasn’t completely fit during the World Cup. With his aggressive nature, and physical presence, this could yet turn out to be the most crucial signing for Mourinho and one would expect him to do well at Stamford Bridge.
Check out all his 36 goals in the 2013-14 Season:
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