Should new Chelsea boss make Stoke creator his first signing?
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The death knell has finally tolled on Jose Mourinho’s nightmare third season as Chelsea boss. The Portuguese left the Blues by “mutual consent” following a run of two wins in nine Premier League games, which puts them just one point above the relegation zone.
In all likelihood an interim manager will be sought for the rest of the season, but with the January transfer window fast approaching whoever takes that role needs to be in place quickly in order to make use of the winter sales.
Rife among the morning’s gossip pages before Mourinho’s sacking was the suggestion that Stoke’s Bojan Krkic would be one of the targets for the 45/1 relegation candidates.
Judging by the season the former Barcelona forward is having, he should be a player of interest no matter who’s in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Although he has only registered three goals in his 12 Premier League appearances this term, Bojan has a better shooting accuracy than all of Chelsea’s current squad.
In addition, the Spaniard has a better goal conversion rate than all bar Cesar Azpilicueta. Those stats say everything about how badly the Blues need some reinvigoration in attack.
As part of a quartet of technically gifted players usually more associated with Europe’s glamour clubs than Mark Hughes’ Stoke, Bojan has helped change the perception over the Potters’ style of play.
A run of just one defeat in their last six top-flight games, which includes victories over Mourinho’s Chelsea and champions elect Manchester City, has propelled Hughes’ outfit to 11th place just three points off the Europa League spots.
Despite that, Ladbrokes still make Stoke 18/1 shots to finish in the top six this season and in order to realise those dreams they’ll need to keep Bojan, as well as Xherdan Shaqiri, Marko Arnautovic and Ibrahim Afellay, away from wandering eyes this January.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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