I was just writing this when Stephen wrote his piece. Let me know what you think, have followed the Bundesliga pretty closely, and liked him at Gladbach.

Marko Marin is a versatile attacking player who is best used across the line in the 3 in a 4-2-3-1. Werder Bremen play with two up top normally in Arnautovic and Pizarro (former Chelsea striker) and he tends to operate on the left side, however a bit like Juan Mata he often tends to drift across the line in behind the two strikers trying to create something.

He is not actually that similar to Mata. He is faster and has greater acceleration, but unlike Juan his ball retention isn’t as good as it could be, he often tries to go for a spectacular through ball or dribble, but this often backfires, he is effective on the right wing and through the middle. He is right footed and often cuts in on the left wing, his dribbling is probably his best technical asset, and he can get through tight spaces with quick bursts of acceleration. His shooting is also strong. The things he needs to work on are his strength, bulking up a bit could really do him some favours, something I’m sure will happen at Cobham. Getting his head up and releasing an early ball rather than holding on to it for too long is also something that can be improved, aerially he will never offer much being 5ft7. His injury history is a slight concern, but he has only been missing for long parts of a season through injury in this campaign and not too often in the past. The main assets that are important for me are his technical ability, set pieces and acceleration. He is also good at breaking down defences over the course of a match, something ideal for the smaller teams we play against in the premier league, also making him very useful for squad rotation when we need to rest a player.

I do not think that this will decrease the likelihood of getting Hazard or Kagawa etc. It is probably a good rotation signing, he will start quite a lot of games next season and be great for rotating Mata and new signings across the attacking midfield three. However, if we don’t sign 2 big names and just one, he is also probably good enough to start. He is definitely better than any winger we have at the club at the moment (counting Mata as AM).

Note that if Di Matteo does stay on, something looking quite likely, we will likely be playing the 4-2-3-1 next season something Marin’s versatility is ideal for. I do not think Marin is enough though; he will not be good enough on his own. I think another winger is still an important signing. Whether he can develop into a truly world class player is uncertain, but there is definitely enough potential there for that to be a good possibility. He reminds me a touch of Robben when he played for PSV before he came to Chelsea; they were similar players, Robben being slightly more direct. Robben made it to be a world class player. Let’s hope Marin does the same. If he doesn’t we haven’t shelled out a huge sum and he is probably good enough as he is to justify £6.5 million.