Why Chelsea should sign Samuel Eto'o and not Wayne Rooney

Chelsea‘s need a for a striker has been apparent since last season. However, a big-name striker is yet to arrive at the Bridge.

Radamel Falcao and Edinson Cavani, the two strikers who were heavily linked to Chelsea have since signed for French clubs Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain respectively. At the moment, the two strikers who seem likely to join Chelsea are Wayne Rooney and Samuel Eto’o.

Most fans would no doubt prefer if the club snatched up Wayne Rooney. However, here are four reasons why Samuel Eto’o is actually a better option than the volatile Englishman:

Makes sense financially

Samuel Eto’o is a cheap alternative

The club have done smart business in the transfer market this season, and signing Eto’o will certainly be cheaper on the club than signing Rooney. While it would cost nothing less than £40 million to even get United to consider selling Rooney to a rival club, Eto’o would cost far less (as little as £2 million if sources are to be believed), given Anzhi’s current financial situation.

Eto’o earns big money at Anzhi but he’s reportedly willing to take a substantial pay-cut to about £80,000 per week, while Rooney would demand something around £250,000 per week to join Chelsea. Needless to say, the move would be a good one for Chelsea financially.

Would let Lukaku flourish

Romelu Lukaku will develop better with Samuel Eto’o

In Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea have one of the best young strikers in Europe. However, the youngster is not yet ready to lead the line-up on a regular basis. He will start a few games and will most definitely get his fair share of appearances, but it’s naive to expect him to lead the line-up just yet because he’s not yet fully developed as a player.

Eto’o is currently 32 years of age and will have at most, two good years left in him. In these two years, Lukaku can develop key aspects of his game and will no doubt be ready to lead the line once Eto’o retires. In this case, Eto’o would be the perfect stop-gap signing.

Wouldn’t cause many off-the-pitch problems

Wayne Rooney is a handful on and off the pitch

Wayne Rooney, despite his natural talent, isn’t exactly known for his excellent attitude. He likes living the good life and has some unhealthy habits, such as smoking. He’s known to sulk if not played on a regular basis and the fact that he is looking to move away from United instead of staying and fighting hard to win back his spot in the starting XI doesn’t exactly prove what a loyal a team player he is.

Eto’o, on the other hand, isn’t known for causing too many problems off the pitch and will in fact accept any decision that Mourinho makes because of the respect he has for the Special One.

Has worked with Mourinho before

Mourinho and Eto’o have that special something

The fact that Mourinho has managed Eto’o before when they were together at Inter will most definitely help the club. Mourinho is known for getting the best out of his players, especially ones that respect him. Eto’o is reportedly willing to take a massive pay-cut in order to join Chelsea, which shows that he still respects The Special One.

He was one of Mourinho’s key men at Inter and while he’s obviously not the lethal striker that he was a few years back, he is still able to find the back of the net on a regular basis and that’s exactly what Chelsea need at the moment.