A good deal in January is often hard to come by these days, but the man that was once dubbed as the ‘next Didier Drogba’ could have defiantly been a hit at Stamford Bridge. Never the less, Wilfried Bony has completed a £28 million move to Manchester City. The Ivorian is currently away preparing for the African Cup of Nations and will join his new team mates see out their participation in the tournament.
Chelsea currently boast one of the top strike forces in the Premier League, the spectacular form of Diego Costa in his debut season, which goes hand in hand with both Loic Remy and Didier Drogba both netting goals whenever they have been called upon.
However here at Chelsea we know how quickly things can change, our strike force is a great example of that. In the 2013-2014 season we had Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba. Now in our current season we had a much fiercer looking Diego Costa, Drogba and Remy. All three of strikers from the 2013-2014 season have since moved away from the club.
Bony is one of the names linked with a move to Stamford Bridge. With Chelsea being one of the top clubs in the Premier League and Europe, big names being linked with Chelsea is nothing new. As speculation began to grow it was a move that looked quite likely. With Didier Drogba looking like is he going to be moving on at either the end of this or defiantly next season, whether that be to a coaching role or away at another club. Chelsea will be back to two strikers, Bony looked set to fill the gap left by Didier Drogba. As I previously mentioned, Bony was always considered the ‘next Didier Drogba’ in his home country. At the age of 26 Bony shows signs of resemblance to Drogba in his prime. The mix of both his speed, strength and partnered with excellent technical abilities, he looked a perfect fit to replace the man they called the King of Stamford Bridge.
When rumours first started to emerge, many suggested that Loic Remy could have been used as part of any deal that took place. This however always looked unlikely. With Bony, similar to Costa offering a great physical presence, I believe it was vital to keep Remy regardless to inject pace into our attack.
If any deal had taken place, I believe Bony would have only been a back option to Costa. With Mourinho unlikely to start with two strikers. As Diego Costa has been suffering with niggling injuries, Bony would have been a like for like replacement. Although, the Spaniard looks to have got over the worse of his injury troubles. Limited game time may not have suited Bony, but it could be something he may need to get to grips with at Manchester City. City currently have Aguero, Dzeko and Jovetic. Given that Bony is not returning till February was City the right place to move, especially when there looked set to be a space for him at Chelsea?
Bony scored the most goals in the Premier League through the 2014 calendar year. As well as this he boasts a fantastic scoring record at all his previous clubs. In my opinion any deal that would have taken Bony to Stamford Bridge, would have been a good deal. With the ageing Drogba and the uncertainty of how long Loic Remy will stay at the club for, Chelsea will need to find a new striker soon. Mourinho also allegedly expressed interest in Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric, who lets set for Leicester. With uncertainty around the futures of the likes of Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah, it is likely funds could have been made available through offloading players.
I believe it is unlikely we will be seeing a new striker move to Stamford Bridge this January, on the other hand I would not be surprised if there were new names lining up in our strike force for the start of the 2015-2016 season.
