Remember Luis Muriel? Once touted as the ‘next Ronaldo’ for his similarities in playing style to the Brazilian icon, the Colombian starlet failed to live up to the monumental expectations those were heaped upon him from his very early days. Still only 25, it is not yet too late for him to shine as he was always destined to.
Potential is such a heavy word in modern football. Even before a player makes a name for himself at the big stage, people start making needless comparisons which so easily unsettles modern day players. That has been the case for Muriel.
Antonio Conte knows Italian football inside out. During his time in Turin, Juventus were the dominant force in Serie A that is still going strong under his worthy successor Massimiliano Allegri.
Chelsea are now enjoying life under Conte finding themselves second in the table after 11 games and Conte will definitely be looking to have a similar dominance in English football with the Blues.
The Daily Star claim that Conte is looking to bring Luis Muriel to Stamford Bridge next summer in order to make Chelsea a dominant in English football. The report also claims that Conte is a fan of the man who won the Serie A Best Young Revelation along with Stephan El Shaarawy in 2012. The Colombian has failed to make it big in his career despite showing plenty of promise in his young days but Conte still believing in his talent speaks of the dormant potential he still has.
Now at Sampdoria, the former Udinese forward is having a good season in Serie A scoring six goals in all competitions from 13 games. The 25-year-old is very much similar to Ronaldo de Lima and Luis Suarez in terms of playing style. They say that South American players are born with footballing skills but you hardly get to see players with gifted ability on the ball like Muriel.
The Colombian is a number nine with excellent pace and flair and can dribble past any defence on his day. He is a pretty mobile striker and often moves to the flanks to create openings for the team. The 25-year-old has tried not to be selfish of late and has one key pass every game.
Chelsea are heavily reliant on Diego Costa despite signing Michy Batshuayi this summer. Even though the Spanish international has been in a sublime form this season, over-reliance on him can hurt the Blues, especially next season when they are likely to have European competition and have to rotate their squad.
If Chelsea are willing to give the Colombian wizard a chance of making his name at the big stage, he needs to take it. The Blues have not had too much joy signing Colombians in the past. Both Falcao and Cuadrado flopped. Will it change with Muriel? Only time will tell.
