Chelsea are looking to bolster their squad heading into the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, having finished sixth last season, five points away from a top-four finish, which would have seen them qualify for Champions League football.
New manager Enzo Maresca has already been equipped with reinforcements, such as Leicester City POTY Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Caleb Wiley, Renato Veiga, and Omari Kellyman.
But Chelsea could still have further changes to their squad, with links circulating of adding another striker and potentially a left-winger to the mix, as well as some potential outgoings.
Chelsea transfer news
According to reports from Football Insider earlier this month, Chelsea are among the clubs keeping tabs on Crystal Palace star, Eberechi Eze, who is also attracting attention from Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Manchester United.
The reports state Eze has a £60m release clause in his contract at Palace, but it does include some 'complications' such as a clause dependent on whether the buying club is in the Champions League or not.
Eze made 31 appearances for Crystal Palace last season in all competitions, scoring 11 goals, providing six assists, and totalling 2,285 minutes of football.
Why Eze could thrive with Osimhen
By adding the creativity of Eze to the clinical finishing of Victor Osimhen – who could be on his way to west London this summer – you could have a recipe for success.
Osimhen made 32 appearances for Napoli last season, scoring 17 goals and providing four assists. The season prior, he managed 31 goals and five assists, showing his reliability at putting the ball in the back of the net.
A massive factor in Osimhen's success at Napoli, was playmaker and partner in crime, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgia international managed nine assists in the 2023/24 season, and 17 in the 2022/23 season, showing his importance for chance creation.
It is then noteworthy that Eze is viewed as a similar player to Kvaratskhelia, according to FBref, thus ensuring that the Englishman could be Osimhen's new dream partner at Stamford Bridge.
Stats (per 90 mins)
Eze
Kvaratskhelia
Assists
0.18
0.19
Shot-Creating Actions
4.82
5.21
Progressive Passes
4.07
3.22
Key Passes
2.37
2.17
Passes into Penalty Area
1.97
1.30
Successful Take-Ons
3.02
3.44
Described as "mesmerising" by Palace teammate Joel Ward, Eze is highly praised for his ability on the ball, and the way he "glides over the pitch". His 3.02 successful take-ons per 90 highlight his ability to carry the ball, mixed with his 2.37 key passes per 90 – showing his end product doesn't lack.
Although Eze ranks marginally below Kvaratskhelia for assists per 90, averaging 0.18, to the Georgian's 0.19, the creative numbers such as progressive passes, key passes and passes into the penalty area all rank higher, showing the potential to strike a similar dynamic for the lethal Osimhen.
Pairing the creative passing and chance creation of Eze, with the 3.73 shots per 90, and 0.52 Non-Penalty goals per 90 of Osimhen, could be a recipe for plenty of goals in Chelsea blue.
Pairing Eze with Osimhen could also unlock even more for the 26-year-old Palace star, with extra attention being paid to the Nigerian striker, it would give Eze even more space to operate, and perhaps even unlock further his goal threat.
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