FEATURE | Emanuel Emegha shines at Strasbourg as Chelsea future awaits | OneFootball

After a season where he became indispensable under Liam Rosenior, Emanuel Emegha looks to be on the verge of completing a transfer away from RC Strasbourg Alsace to their sister club, Chelsea FC. The Dutch striker is reportedly close to signing a six-year contract with the Premier League club. However, it will likely be another year before Chelsea fans get to witness their new striker in person.

The 22-year-old is expected to remain at Strasbourg for another year on a season-long loan, where he will be given another shot at helping the club reach the UEFA Champions League after they narrowly missed out on the competition. For a young player who has taken steady strides in his development since arriving in the East of France two years ago, staying the extra season looks to be a clever choice.

After a slow start to life in Strasbourg, where he had the misfortune of replacing the fan favourite Habib Diallo, Emegha has shown remarkable progress in his two seasons in French football. In his first campaign, he scored only nine times in 31 appearances across all competitions, which ballooned this season into a career best 14 goals in 29 appearances.

Emanuel Emegha flourishing under Liam Rosenior’s tutelage

It’s hard to overlook the arrival of Rosenior at Strasbourg when looking at Emegha’s improvements. Rosenior replaced Patrick Vieira as the head coach over the summer and instilled a dynamic new playing style that transformed the club from a fairly passive and low possession team (the second lowest possession on average in Ligue 1) into a more possession-oriented pressing side.

It’s a transition that has proven to suit Emegha, who has been instrumental with and without the ball in this new system. Out of possession, Emegha leads the press, and it is no surprise that the team suffers defensively without him. During his absences (due to a knee and then a calf injury), Strasbourg have lost seven and won once, while the club have lost only three times in matches he’s played.

When Strasbourg have the ball, Emegha provides various options. He’s one of the fastest players in the league, and according to Ligue 1, he recorded a sprint speed of 37.72 km/h during a match against Le Havre AC. His teammates have looked to capitalise on this by frequently playing balls in behind the opposition backline, allowing him to use his pace to attack the space. While, he also remains an effective poacher when inside the six-yard box.

‘He has a Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Michael Jordan side to him’

Confidence has never been an issue for the young striker, as Tim Roest, his former coach at the Sparta Rotterdam u16s, told L’Équipe, “He has a Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Michael Jordan side [to him].” And as Olympique de Marseille captain Leonardo Balerdi found out following a fiery 1-1 draw at the Stade Vélodrome, he’s not afraid to call out other professionals: “He couldn’t catch me, so he tried to speak to me, tried to foul me. He’s a little man.”

However, it would also be accurate to say that his confidence in his shot selection has improved this season under Rosenior. In his first campaign at Strasbourg, he heavily favoured his right foot and scored only once with his weaker left foot in the league, while this season he’s shown an ambidextrousness, having scored seven with his left and five with his right.

All the signs appear to be promising for Emegha, and it would be a surprise if he didn’t have a bright future ahead of him. In a season where Chelsea’s striking options have often flattered to deceive, it would be easy to try and throw him in at the deep end next season and hope that he would make an immediate impact. However, the right choice for his development looks as if it will be made, as Strasbourg are quickly earning a reputation as a place where young talent can come of age.

GFFN | Nick Hartland