Chelsea’s unique and bold transfer policy has seen them completing transfers sometimes more than a year before the player will actually feature for the club.
The Blues beat PSG to Estevao Willian’s signature months before he made his debut at Stamford Bridge, and are reaping the rewards of getting to a clearly elite talent first.
The likes of Geovany Quenda, Kendry Paez, Mike Penders and Dastan Satpaev are all waiting in the wings to make their first appearances for the club after being signed earlier.
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This season has already seen the Blues secure the services of Emanuel Emegha at the end of the season, after he has enjoyed more than 12 months of good form at Strasbourg.
Chelsea fans have already been impressed with Emegha ahead of him officially joining, and European football expert Andy Brassell has been singing the Dutchman’s praises ahead of the move.
He told TalkSPORT that he believes Emegha’s strong mentality is a key reason why he will succeed when he becomes a Premier League striker.
He said: “Everyone knew when he started playing well for Strasbourg that he would end up at Chelsea at some point because they have first dibs because it’s Strasbourg and he’s a player of very high quality.
“But I think the fact that he got given the captaincy and then a couple of weeks later he’s posing at Stamford Bridge with a Chelsea shirt, that upsets some Strasbourg fans.
“But then he comes back in the team, puts back on the captain’s armband and scores twice as they beat Lille at the weekend.
“Really, I think that underlines not just Emegha’s quality, but the attitude that he has and the belief in himself that he has.
“That makes me think that he will be a massive success in the Premier League. Because these moments where he’s under scrutiny or he’s marginalised, he’s got the nuts to step up and say, ‘Yeah, okay, this is what I’m made of.’
“And he proves it every time, and it’s super impressive. And so he’s got a lot more to say in this season.”
Emegha has chance to prove himself on international stage
For the first time in his career, Emegha has been called up to represent Netherlands at senior level for their upcoming games against Poland and Lithuania.
It is a great sign of just how much he has come on in the last 12 months, and with Strasbourg having ambitions to compete deep into the Conference League, he will have plenty of chances to do so this season.
It looks as if there are no current plans for Emegha to leave on loan ahead of next season, with him likely to overtake Marc Guiu in the pecking order.
It remains to be seen if the Spaniard will be loaned out, or Chelsea will cash in after signing him for a significantly low fee from Barcelona in 2024.
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