Emenalo reveals Eto’o’s deal

Chelsea’s Technical Director, Michael Emenalo, has explained that the club’s decision to sign Samuel Eto’o this summer was not a direct result of the failed attempt to land Wayne Rooney.
Eto’o joined the west Londoners on a free transfer last month after Chelsea were thwarted in their attempts to lure Rooney to Stamford Bridge from Manchester United.
The Blues had two official bids for Rooney turned down by Manchester United during the course of the summer and were eventually forced to concede defeat in their attempts to sign the 27-year-old England international.
But Emenalo insists that the decision to recruit Eto’o from Anzhi Makhachkala was not an instant reaction to having failed to land Rooney and claims the Blues were “comfortable” with their striking options before the Cameroon international’s arrival.
“We are looking for continuity at the top level, a very high standard, so when we recruit an older player we hope it is one that will give us that continuity, and we also look to have the right base in that particular position,” Emenalo told Chelsea’s website.
He added: “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.
“But we are not desperate and we know for the future we have Romelu Lukaku and incredible hope that he will come through and lead the line. People keep forgetting that he is only 20 and looking at the short-term plan, we don’t want to put too much pressure on a young player like him.
“So if we weren’t able to get Rooney and we had Lukaku, (Demba) Ba and (Fernando) 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.”