Eto’o is a worthy replacement for Manchester United’s Rooney at Chelsea

The Cameroon striker will supply great experience says Blues technical director.

Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo says that the signing of Samuel Eto’o is more than an adequate replacement for missing out on Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney.

The Blues did not hide the fact that they were keen on Rooney and failed to land the forward with two bids during the summer.

In the end the west London club instead made a move for Anzhi Makhachkala star Eto’o – a player manager Jose Mourinho had worked with at Inter Milan in 2009/10.

Despite not getting their first choice, Emenalo believes the 32-year-old brings all the experience that the side requires.

“In the case of Samuel Eto’o, it was an open secret that we wanted Wayne Rooney and I don’t need to explain what the idea is behind wanting a player like Rooney,” the director told the club’s website.

“So if we weren’t able to get Rooney and we had Lukaku, Ba and Torres, we felt comfortable with them but we also felt comfortable to bring Eto’o to give us a little bit of competition, because we wanted to freshen up that position.”

“We have every confidence in Torres, Ba and Lukaku but with Eto’o we have bought experience.”
The Cameroon international arrived at Stamford Bridge on a free transfer, despite having scored 286 goals in 529 matches during an illustrious career to date, as Anzhi were keen to get the forward’s colossal £350,000-a-week wages off their books.

Eto’o is yet to play for Chelsea, but could get the opportunity next week when the side take on Everton in the Premier League.