"Myself, along with the majority of Chelsea fans, have been waiting for the season when Mikael Forssell makes the step up from being a potentially good striker to a top class striker. Fortunately for you Birmingham fans, you will all be able to witness it first hand!
"The downside - you won’t want to see him leave when the loan is over! His two
goals against Fulham this Sunday were just a little taster of what you can expect from him this season. And it just goes to show that Chelsea can still hurt our West London rivals even when we’re not even playing them!
"Mikael has been on the Chelsea scene since 1998 when Gianluca Vialli beat a whole host of top European clubs to secure his signature. He made an immediate impact, scoring twice against Oxford in the FA Cup. Despite being at the tender age of 17, big things were predicted of Mikael (where have we heard that before?).
"But it seemed unlikely that such an inexperienced striker could hold down a place in Chelsea’s star studded line up, and a loan move to Crystal Palace beckoned. He spent the end of the 1999/00 season at Selhurst Park and they loved him so much that he spent the whole of the following season there!
"Upon returning to Chelsea, he wasn’t given too many opportunites but, after staying patient, he was given his chance at the start of 2002. His form in the FA Cup and in the Premiership as a supersub saw him net 9 goals that season before a serious knee injury cut short his season.
"He took almost a year to recover and was loaned to Borussia Monchengladbach this March to regain his match fitness. But, not being content with that, Mikael only went and scored the goals that kept them in the Bundesliga!
"I suppose what I’m trying to say is that Mikael Forssell is class! Alongside Dugarry, his game can only improve. And that’s a bad thing for the rest of the Premiership…."