Marko Marin is a ridiculous signing by Chelsea

Marko Marin has joined Chelsea for an undisclosed fee

In an exclusive report this weekend, German magazine “kicker” revealed that Werder Bremen’s Marko Marin would be on his way to Chelsea in the summer for an undisclosed fee. Werder’s Director of Sport Klaus Allofs announced the decision prior to the team’s defeat to Wolfsburg on Saturday, confirming that Marin would sign until 2017 for an undisclosed fee.

“We have always said that, if a player receives a good offer which is also attractive for Werder, we would give it serious thought,” said Allofs, “We had good talks with the Chelsea board, and we wish Marko all the best for the future.”

He did well to keep a straight face. For most in Germany, the idea that Marin could become a key player in Chelsea’s much needed revival is as laughable as the idea that England could win Euro 2012. As a statement of intent towards the Bundesliga ahead of next month’s Champions League Final, Chelsea could barely have made a more ridiculous signing.

The Yugoslavian born attacking midfielder was, prior to the World Cup in 2010, the next big thing in Germany. Having impressed at both Borussia Mönchengladbach and, more recently, at Werder, the then 21-year-old had the world at his feet.

As anyone who has watched him over the past two years will confirm, however, Marin is not quite as good with his feet as some are willing to suggest. His ratings on mass produced video games may still be sky high, but in real life, the untapped potential that Marin showed in early 2010 remains resolutely untapped.

In the last year, Werder Bremen have scored 47 goals. In his 31 appearances Marin has, according to Opta, been directly involved in just six of those. It is one of several damning statistics which justify his failure to break into the national side, and make a mockery of Chelsea’s transfer policy.

The undisclosed fee may yet prove to be something of a saving grace if the Bremen midfielder transpires not to be particularly costly. Any figure which even gets close to the £10m mark, however, would raise serious questions about the Premier League’s knowledge of the Bundesliga.

With such a wealth of midfield and attacking talent to be procured at agreeable prices – just ask Newcastle fans – there is something inescapably lazy about going after players with the most recognisable names, as clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea seem to have done with the likes of Marin and Lukas Podolski.

This is not to deny that Marin has talent. A quick entry of his name into Youtube will produce endless circumstantial evidence to back that claim. And that if Chelsea are able to do what Werder have not and allow that talent to flourish, he may prove to be an excellent signing.

The culture at Chelsea though, leaves very little room for error. Look at the way David Luiz, a far more promising player in his position than Marin, has been treated by the media and, to a large extent, the fans. If Marin is to succeed in the Premier League – and incidentally he, like every other player to arrive at an English club in the last decade “has always dreamed of playing in the Premiership” – he will need a considerable change in his current fortunes.

Perhaps the more pertinent question for Chelsea fans, though, is why this particular Bundesliga player? Has their spending power diminished so much that they were unable to challenge for the likes of Marco Reus, Mario Götze and Papiss Cissé when their signatures were up for grabs? Is there scouting system so lazy that the likes of Julian Draxler and Ilkay Gündoğan have never even been considered?

Perhaps the most damning evidence against Marin is that, unlike most of those players named above, Marin has, in the last few years, not attracted any substantial interest from Chelsea’s Champions League opponents FC Bayern. As any supporter of a Bundesliga side will tell you, most of Bayern’s phenomenal success in the last few years is a result of their ability to siphon off a large chunk of Germany’s best talent as and when they wish.

Just three weeks before the Champions League Final, Chelsea have signed a player who Bayern have barely looked twice at. Make of that what you will.

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