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Midfielder Andre Schurrle is a rising star in the world of soccer, so Chelsea is likely quite happy with its recent acquisition of the German national. Due to surplus of talent at his particular position, however, the Blues ultimately won't get their money's worth out of him.
According to Martin Lipton of the Mirror, Chelsea completed a deal with Bayer Leverkusen for Schurrle worth £20 million. It is Jose Mourinho's first signing in his second stint at Chelsea and one that the Blues have reportedly been trying to broker for a very long time.
There is no question that Schurrle is a promising player, as the 22-year-old netted 14 goals last year and already has seven tallies in 24 appearances for the German national team. It's difficult to imagine Schurrle earning regular playing time at Chelsea as he did in the Bundesliga, though.
With talented midfielders such as Eden Hazard, Oscar, Victor Moses and Marko Marin already in place, there may not be a spot for Schurrle in the starting lineup. He could be a super sub who would provide Chelsea with great pace and energy off the bench late in games, but his role should be more significant than that considering what it cost to bring him in.
While Chelsea is obviously one of the richest teams in the world, not even the Blues can afford to throw £20 million at a player without making it worthwhile. That £20 million could have easily gone to someone who will make an instant impact and perhaps help Chelsea usurp the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City in the EPL next season.
Schurrle could potentially be that player if Mourinho finds a spot for him, but that is far from guaranteed at this point. The addition of Schurrle is likely to lead to a couple departures as well in the form of Juan Mata and Kevin De Bruyne. It can certainly be argued that both of those players are better fits for Chelsea currently.
According to Jim Daly of the Mirror, Mata and Mourinho aren't on the same page, so he is a prime candidate to be moved. Chelsea obviously wants to avoid animosity between the coach and his players, but Mata racked up 19 goals and 35 assists, so there is no question that a scoring void would be left if he were to go elsewhere.
As for De Bruyne, he has yet to play for Chelsea as he was loaned to Werder Bremen last season. The rising Belgian star showed flashes of greatness, and he actually outperformed Schurrle from a statistical perspective, according to EPL Index.
According to John Edwards of the Daily Mail, De Bruyne is prepared to play elsewhere as he is unsure of Mourinho's intentions. Based on the fact that he was willing to spend big bucks on another midfielder, the writing appears to be on the wall when it comes to De Bruyne.
It simply seems odd that Chelsea is reportedly willing to move an ultra-productive player in Mata and walk away from De Bruyne as well in favor of a player who has yet to fully prove himself. If Schurrle lives up to his potential, then Chelsea could possibly have a steal on its hands, but he may not be put in a position to succeed.
Schurrle could already be on the losing end of a numbers game at Chelsea, so he could very well be set up to fail. Unless Mourinho comes up with some creative and effective ways to utilize Schurrle early in his tenure, look for the Chelsea faithful to turn on the German midfielder at some point.
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