By Myles Palmer
Chelsea are buying Adrian Mutu from Parma for £15.8 million.
He’s 24, Romanian,maybe as gifted as Hagi or Stoichkov.
In 2004 he might be able to do some of the things Zola did, after he settles in.
Mutu is an extraordinarily well-balanced touch player, a striker of immense finesse and resourcefulness.
I liked Mutu so much during Euro 2000 that I put him in my team of the tournament.
That team, in 3-5-1-1 formation, with 3 Romanians, annoyed people at the time.
And it looks a bit whacky to me two years later.
When Chelski were threatening to buy Mark van Bommel, I was worried.
Van Bommel is up there with Vieira, Emerson, one of the great halfbacks of our time, a monster,monster midfielder, in my view, someone who can tackle, pass,lead,score from 25 yards-and fill in at centreback.
Last year Chelsea needed a holding midfield player. That is what they still lack.
They needed Emerson or van Bommel.
Mutu reminds me of Zico and Romario- very,very nimble, very light on his feet, a goalpoacher with an almost feminine subtlety.
He is a featherweight Cantona, a ballerina with studs.
Mutu is a flicky player who can get onto Veron’s passes and play one-twos with Joe Cole.
Inter had him as a teenager.
Then he was at Verona.
Then Parma for the last two years.
He scored 18 goals last season in Serie A.
Obviously, Chelsea need a striker.
Samuel Eto’o would have been perfect.
Eto’o is an electric warrior. Eto’o is a bionic imp. Eto’o is exceptionally fast, phenomenally brave, a proven scorer who should be at a bigger club than Real Mallorca.
Eto’o is a far better striker than Mutu, who will be patchy in his first season in the Premiership.
I want to see Chelsea’s first 8 results. So do you.
We know you can’t collage a football team.
It will take 18 months for a great team to emerge from this spending spree.
Mutu at £16 million is a big risk.
When the new Chelsea team does emerge, around February 2005, I’m not sure Mutu will be in it.
But I’m already sure that Mutu will be a lot more use to Chelsea than Kanu or Jeffers are to Arsenal this season.
Community Shield against Manchester United?
Do I have any last-minute thoughts?
Yes, plenty.
But I don’t know the teams. Don’t know how hot it will be in Cardiff at 2pm.
Sol has a point to prove, after his ban. So Sol will have a blinder in a low-scoring game.
My brother Neil called from Philadelphia tonight.
Last weekend Neil took his son and a Swiss teenager to see Man United play Barcelona in a new stadium in Philly.
Neil thought Barcelona played well in the first half.
But United won 3-1.
He said, “The Man United defence is like a f****** machine.It’s virtually impenetrable.”
We shall see about that.
August 10th 2003.
What was my crazy team on July 6th 2000?
Managed by Dino Zoff, it was, in 3-5-1-1 formation:
Barthez;
Repka Blanc Nesta;
Figo Vieira Galca Nedved Chivu;
Mutu;
Henry.
I KNEW YOU WOULDNT LIKE IT !