With Chelsea approaching the latter part of March firmly in contention for a top-four berth after a 4-0 win over Everton, there is more than just room for optimism. There is now an opportunity to not only build on the existing foundation, but further explore a market – namely the Eredivisie – that still potentially represents good value for money in an age of ripe inflation.
The excellent Hakim Ziyech is already on his way to Stamford Bridge from Eredivisie champions Ajax this summer, and promises to form a devastating axis with his peers. Within touching distance of his hybrid passing, running and shooting abilities is Willian’s trickery, Kante’s pace, Mount’s ever-growing sense of vision, and Abraham’s finishing ability.
Mount’s instinctive goal vs Everton on 8 March shows how he might form a great rapport with Ziyech.
Chelsea’s need for diverse attacking options has certainly been laid bare on occasion this season. Back in January, for instance, the experts at notable betting market comparison site Oddschecker correctly called that Arsenal would get at least a point from Stamford Bridge. That they did was due to Chelsea inviting pressure on, rather than going for a third, and that is something that another Eredivisie player – alongside Ziyech – could undoubtedly address with his raw aggression and pace.
Myron Boadu, who was once linked with Chelsea’s cross-capital rivals Arsenal way back in 2016, is enjoying a stellar campaign with title-chasing AZ Alkmaar. While he may initially find himself as little more than an ‘impact sub’ in the event of his arrival at Chelsea, he would certainly address the issue of depth, with the current lack of it punishingly exploited by Bayern in the Champions League back in February.
Prominent amongst Boadu’s vital statistics is the rate at which he has scored matchwinners this term, which could be seismic in the context of the title race over in the Netherlands. Arguably the most important yet, scored in the 25th Eredivisie round as the opener in a 2-0 win at Ajax, was Boadu’s fourth match-winning goal from his previous five strikes at that point:
The year of 2020 has also seen Boadu gain a reputation as a live wire from the first whistle, with three of those four winners previously mentioned being match openers. Overall, as of the eve of Ajax’s trip to Heerenveen on 8 March Boadu had scored no less than seven decisive opening goals – meaning that 35% of his 20 competitive goals to that point boasted such a characteristic.
If Boadu can maintain his unique selling point of scoring important goals with such frequency, then any potential bidding war in the summer may be one fully worth winning. Frank Lampard’s clear strength in his ability to work on the development of younger players, with a long-term agenda in mind, automatically gives Chelsea a competitive edge should they pursue Boadu’s signature.
