Samuel Eto’o: I would join Chelsea

Samuel Eto’o

José Mourinho must have seen enough of the Chelsea squad to be convinced that he still needs a striker. He said a few weeks ago that Wayne Rooney was the only player Chelsea were trying to get, but it appears that the situation has changed somewhat.

Samuel Eto’o has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea. The Cameroon star has only one year left on his contract at Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.

Mourinho is a huge fan of Eto’o. He revealed recently that Chelsea tried to bring Eto’o to Stamford Bridge during his first spell at the club.

“We wanted Eto’o and the boss did everything to bring Eto’o and Peter Kenyon did everything.

“In the end, Barcelona said, ‘We don’t sell, forget it, forget it. Not any price’. The owner did everything to get him, but it was not possible,” said Mourinho.

Eto’o is a goal scoring machine. There is also more to him. He is incredibly hard-working and sacrifices all for the team. He can be used as a striker or on the wings. At the moment, his biggest advantage is the cost involved in the transfer.

His contractual situation means that he will cost very less compared to the £35 million-rated Rooney. He is the highest paid footballer in the world at £330,000 per week. Of course, he cannot imagine earning anywhere close to that at Chelsea, but he won’t be on peanuts either. Eto’o will command around £200,000 per week, which is around the same that Rooney earns now.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Eto’o said:

“There is only one Jose Mourinho. I have played under a lot of great coaches – but there is no other character in the game like Jose.

“He is one of the best coaches in the world – and we had a lot of success together at Inter Milan. I would like to have the chance to play under him again – because it is never boring when Jose is around.

“Of course Chelsea are a great team – and when we have all the offers on the table then I will discuss with my agent and see what my next step is.”

At 32 years of age, he does not have a long time left in football, but it would be great to squeeze two years out of him. It would also give Lukaku a chance to develop without much pressure.

Rooney is a great long-term option, while Eto’o is a great short-term option. Chelsea can’t go wrong with either of these two great players.