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CHELSEA SIGN STURRIDGE

Chelsea’s barren summer of signings has finally been brought to life this evening, with a reported deal for Manchester City’s young striker Daniel Sturridge allegedly all but completed.

Sturridge’s contract with Mark Hughes’ side will come to an end on June 31st, and with the young hitman rumoured to be haggling over a £70,000 a week deal it looked unlikely that Man City would bite, particularly after parting with millions elsewhere – notably the deals for Roque Santa Cruz and possibly Carlos Tevez. Hopefully he settled for a bit less at Chelsea! I’m sure the signing-on fee probably softened the blow.

As Sturridge is under 24, the Blues will still have to pay some kind of fee to Manchester City despite the fact that he is virtually a free agent.

Sturridge, 19, has got five goals to his name so far in the Premier League but his all-round play up-front also catches the eye. He played alongside the big name Brazilian Robinho last season on several occasions and didn’t look out of place, eventually winning the fans’ Young Player of the Season award. At 6”2’ with a fair amount of pace, Sturridge can learn from the likes of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka at Chelsea and further improve his game.

With the Blues’ frontline looking a little light in the last campaign, Sturridge’s expected arrival will boost our striking options and of course help out with the Champions League squad which requires clubs to name at least eight ‘homegrown’ players for European competition – with at least four having come through the club’s own academy and a further four through an academy in the club’s own country.

CFCnet would like to extend a welcome to Dan Sturridge, the first signing in the Carlo Ancelotti era.

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