According to reports, Chelsea are keen to sign Max Kruse from Werder Bremen. The Blues, have already signed Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid. It seems as if the Londoners are not done yet in the transfer market.
Max Kruse, who scored 15 goals for Bremen the last term, is one of the main reasons why the Green and Whites had finished in a respectable mid table position last season. Even though club manager Frank Baumann is said to be remaining confident that Werder can hold onto their star striker this summer, he can’t block any move, if the big clubs are wanting his signature.
Kruse can be a great backup for Alvaro Morata, who is not the most prolific strikers around and considering the healthy scoring of Max Kruse, we might even see both of them playing together at some point of the season.
Amidst links with other strikers, Max Kruse definitely seems to be a better option as he can not only help Chelsea score more goals but can also help the midfielders by pushing back from offensive zones.
He will offer a great versatile offensive option for coach Antonio Conte. Kruse has also won 14 caps for Germany, in which he has found the net on four occasions. He has played his entire career in Germany, and for clubs like Wolfsburg, Gladbach, Bremen etc.
However, Kruse is a troublesome individual who often makes the headline off the pitch. But surely not as much departing striker Diego Costa.
One of the most appealing traits about Max Kruse is his creative force as a striker. His ability to hold off the ball and pick other teammates in the final third makes him quite a handy player for any team. Quite amazingly, apart from being Bremen’s top scorer last season, he has also created the most number of chances amongst other players in the club with 49.
Even Bremen’s number one playmaker Zlatko Junuzovic falls one behind the former German International. His shot accuracy is also great with 65% and feels pretty comfortable using both feet. No other player was directly involved in as many goals as Max Kruse in the second half of the Bundesliga last season.
Although he should look to improve on his duels won ratio. Especially for a player standing at 5″9′, one should have decent duels won ratio but Kruse averages only 39%. While ego, as mentioned earlier, can be a big problem for the former Gladbach striker. His personality off the pitch has already earned him a couple of fines during his career and it’s very unlikely that it will change much at Chelsea.
Overall, Max Kruse can be a great backup or a secondary striker for Chelsea for a fairly cheap price. He has proved in the past that he can play for the best teams and this might just be the chance he will be looking for.
[Stats courtesy: Squawka]
