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From the "What in the what?" department, Chelsea have reportedly set about signing yet another attacking midfielder to join the ranks of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Oscar, Kevin De Bruyne, André Schürrle, and Victor Moses, as well as the incoming Willian. Porto's Christian Atsu, with just a year left on his contract with the Portuguese giants, seems to be that man.
The 21-year-old Ghana international is a predominantly-left-sided winger with a decent shot, decent pace, and a good bit of technical quality. He's exactly the sort of youth prospect Chelsea have been accumulating by the gross in recent years, and definitely could stand a chance of reaching the Chelsea first team, even if he'll never be homegrown in any competition.
With a reported fee of approximately £3.5m, he poses virtually no financial risk to a club of Chelsea's size. At this point, it's unclear if he would be a target to join Chelsea right away or to go on loan, though the latter is more-likely. On that note, Portuguese football journalist João Ruela had this to say:
Christian Atsu (FC Porto) signs for Chelsea, but shall play for other team during this season on a loan. Jose Mourinho's request.
— João Ruela (@joao_ruela) August 28, 2013
To me, this reads much like our earlier signing of Croatian striker Stipe Perica. He's probably going to spend a year or three on loan, before perhaps joining Chelsea or being sold on for a nice little profit. No matter the future plan for him, this is a surprising report, no doubt. He'd been linked to Tottenham and Liverpool earlier this summer, so there's every chance this is part of Chelsea's emerging "Troll Spurs" transfer policy. I'd expect confirmation in the coming days if these reports hold true.