Why Omorodion's Spain call-up is BAD NEWS for Chelsea

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 8 Nov 2024 08:46 CST
• 4 min read

Samu Omorodion has officially received his first senior call-up for Spain following his immense first few months at FC Porto.

The 20-year-old has scored 11 goals in just 12 appearances for the Portuguese giants and his early season form has been rewarded with an inclusion in Spain’s senior squad for the November international break.

Luis de la Fuente’s side will travel to face Denmark on 15 November, before hosting Switzerland three days later as they look to end the current Nations League campaign unbeaten.

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Omorodion scored four times during Spain U21s’ 6-0 rout over Malta last month and he will battle AC Milan’s Alvaro Morata for a starting spot during the upcoming international fixtures.

His inclusion in Spain’s squad is completely justified, but it comes as extremely bad news for Chelsea.

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Chelsea’s Samu Omorodion regret

Chelsea were moments away from finalising a deal for Omorodion during the summer window, but the transfer fell through at the last minute and the Blues were forced to sign Joao Felix instead.

The Portuguese international has displayed glimpses of his talent at Stamford Bridge, but he’s failed to displace Cole Palmer and he appears unlikely to force his way into Enzo Maresca’s Premier League starting XI at any point in the near future.

Omorodion, on the other hand, has shone since his move to Chelsea fell through.

He’s built on an impressive loan spell at Alaves last campaign and he now looks like one of the best young forwards in European football.

The Spaniard has proven that joining a team outside of Europe’s top five leagues can boost development rapidly and that earning a senior international call-up is possible even if you’re not playing week-in, week-out in the Premier League or La Liga.

Furthermore, the difference between the status of Omorodion and Marc Guiu is also a concern for Chelsea.

Both players are extremely highly-rated in the Spain youth set-up, but their careers have taken wildly different turns since the start of the summer.

Guiu opted to join Chelsea and he has racked up just 242 minutes of action for the club, with only 23 of those coming in the Premier League. He has scored once for the Blues, versus FC Noah in the Europa Conference League, and he remains in Spain’s U19 side.

Current ETV

Samuel Omorodion

F (C)

Porto

Samuel Omorodion

F (C)

Porto

€17.1M

ETV Range

€12.8M - €21.4M

View full profile

Omorodion, however, joined Porto instead of Chelsea and he has already reached double figures for goals this season and could become a fully-fledged senior Spain international within the next few weeks.

Guiu is, of course, two years younger than Omorodion, but their career paths have altered massively this summer and it reflects poorly on Chelsea.

Finally, Omorodion’s inclusion in Spain’s senior squad is likely to result in an increased price tag.

Chelsea remain interested in signing the 20-year-old, but his value will sky-rocket if he becomes a Spain regular and the Blues could come to seriously regret their failure to finalise a deal this summer.