Chelsea target who 'cried a lot' during £35m saga shows Enzo Maresca what he's missing

Samu Omorodion has put a traumatic summer behind him by relentlessly racking up goals in Portugal.

The 20-year-old was all set for a move to join at in August before complications between the Blues and saw the deal fall through. At that time, Omorodion was being forced to train away from the Rojiblancos first team while they tried to thrash out a sale.

"I didn't feel involved, not like a footballer," he told EFE. "I trained and my head told me no. I had a bad time. I cried a lot at night. My family and my mother had a very bad time. In the end, thank God, everything came together."

Two weeks after the Premier League switch collapsed, FC Porto came swooping in with an offer which satisfied all parties. Frustratingly for Chelsea, the striker moved for just - a fraction of the fee they were willing to pay.

Given Omorodion's start to the season, even the higher price would have been a bargain. The tall and powerful centre-forward bagged a 14-minute hat-trick on Monday night, firing Porto to a resounding 5-0 away win over AVS.

And that was merely the latest in a long line of statement performances from the youngster. The standard of opposition in Portugal is undoubtedly inferior to what Omorodion would have been up against if he moved to the Premier League.

But there can be no doubts about his ability to affect games against higher-quality teams due to his red-hot record in Europe. Prior to his AVS treble, Omorodion struck in Porto's Europa League win over Hoffenheim and netted twice in the 3-3 draw with Manchester United.

For his first, he overpowered Matthijs de Ligt to head in at the near post. And his second was an emphatic finish into the roof of the net after once again leaving De Ligt flummoxed with a darting run.

Overall, Omorodion has scored an eye-popping 11 goals in nine matches across all competitions this season. Still 20 years old until May next year, the attacking prodigy is finding the net every 59 minutes on average.

The consolation for Maresca is that he is not short of choices up top. Nicolas Jackson has scored six Premier League goals this campaign and Christopher Nkunku is a more than capable deputy for the Senegalese.

But there is no telling how far Omorodion could go based on his current form, and with the Spaniard's market value soaring, Chelsea missed out on a deal which may have made financial sense too.