Chelsea forward Loïc Rémy has piqued the interest of several clubs this off-season, most notably the likes of Premier League rival clubs West Ham, Swansea and Crystal Palace. With reports swirling about the impending signing of AS Monaco striker Radamel Falcao, Rémy was thought to be on the transfer block and set for a possible move away from SW6.
According to Darren Lewis of the Mirror, however, Chelsea have changed course and blocked a potential £15 million move for Rémy this summer. With Rémy apparently considering his options due to the links to Falcao and the remaining presence of first-choice Diego Costa ahead of him at centre forward, Chelsea were believed to be open to listening to offers for the Frenchman starting at £15 million.
Per the Mirror report, though, it now seems that Rémy is not for sale as the Blues appear keen to keep him in their stable of strikers as insurance up front. While Costa scored 20 goals in his first Premier League campaign, the Brazilian-born Spaniard was also plagued by injuries throughout the 2014-15 season as he battled a recurring hamstring issue. Falcao spent the last season on loan at Manchester United, but the man known as El Tigre seems far from a sure-fire option after only managing four goals and four assists in 26 league appearances for the Red Devils.
Given the fragility of Costa’s hamstring and Falcao’s uninspiring season after returning from cruciate ligament surgery, retaining Rémy – who is currently on £80,000 per week – seems to be a smart play by the Blues.
While Rémy also battled injuries throughout Chelsea’s league-winning campaign last year – he suffered untimely injuries to his groin and his calf that overlapped with sideline spells for Costa – the 28-year-old was excellent for José Mourinho when healthy. Despite playing just 908 minutes in all competitions, Rémy netted nine goals for the Blues, including seven in the Premiership.
Rémy’s effectiveness is illustrated by his per-90 scoring numbers, as his 0.91 goals per 90 minutes are favorable to those of Costa (0.87) and Harry Kane (0.73). His smaller sample size must be acknowledged in relation to these numbers, but the statistic shows how good he was as a second-choice for Chelsea when he was at full health.
For comparison, Falcao’s per-90 goal scoring rate was just 0.29 at Old Trafford.
