Factfile: Meet new signing Eldor Shomurodov!

Here, we get to know the 26-year-old striker, a player that was seemingly on José Mourinho's radar long before the pair first met at the AFC Asian Cup in 2019...

The tale of the tape

Full name: Eldor Azamat oʻgʻli Shomurodov
Date of birth: 29/06/1995
Age: 26
Place of birth: Jarkurgan
Nationality: Uzbek
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 76kg

Where it all began

Shomurodov's career began in the youth academy of FK Mash'al Mubarek, where his uncle Ilkhom Shomurodov, a centre forward himself, had also plied his trade.

Young Shomurodov's time at the club presented him with a once in a lifetime experience in the academy, as he led the legendary Rivaldo out to the pitch during the World Cup-winning Brazilian's stint with Uzbek outfit Bunyodkor Tashkent.

"When I played at the Mashal Academy, my uncle Ilkhom played in the first team. I always took him by the hand and took him out on the field," Shomurodov later explained of his moment as mascot that has since been capture for posterity on YouTube.

"But once we had to go out with the Bunyodkor players... and I was given Rivaldo. I was so excited, I couldn't believe it."

It clearly made a lasting impression and, after nine first team appearances with Mash'al, Shomurodov followed in the illustrious footsteps of the magic left-footer by joining Bunyodkor in 2015.

He would score 13 times in 58 appearances for the Tashkent team before moving to Russian outfit FK Rostov two years later.

A further 18 goals and 12 assists would follow, form that led to Genoa making their move for the frontman ahead of the 2020'21 campaign.

Shomurodov scored eight times in 31 games over the course of his first season in Italy, even though he started just 16 of those matches.

He bagged five goals from the final six matchdays of the campaign, suggesting that Shomurodov had well and truly settled into Serie A life by the end of the term.

An international gun

Uzbekistan have never reached a World Cup, but their hopes of doing so in the near future have been boosted by the emergence of Shomurodov and qualification is something high up on his wish list.

"Qualifying for the World Cup is very important for the team, the country and me personally," he told FIFA.com in 2020.

"Thirty-four million Uzbek people have been dreaming about the World Cup for so many years. I want to play my part in that process because achieving [qualification] will make a big impact to the game in our country.

"It’s true we’ve come so close on several occasions, but we failed when it mattered the most. Now the entire nation are waiting for us [to make history] and I hope this time we can make it and do our people proud."

Shomurodov is well'placed to lead his nation to international football's biggest competition, with his Uzbekistan return already reading at 22 goals from just 49 caps.

Did you know?

Shomurodov has long carried the label of the "Uzbeki Messi", but his tall, slender physique alone makes that comparison somewhat defunct.

He's far more in the mould of one of his idols, Didier Drogba, and it was watching the Ivorian star under Mourinho at Chelsea that first drew Shomorudov to his new coach.

As documented on the striker's Instagram, the pair have already met, with both sharing their respect for each others' work.

And, while hailing Drogba as one of his inspirations on the pitch, the new Roma man has previously taken the time to acknowledge Mourinho as the best in the business when it comes to coaching.

He said: "Among the coaches, I like Mourinho, he's number one."

Notable numbers

• When he signed for Genoa in 2020, Shomurodov became only the second Uzbek player in history to move to Serie A.
  
• The first Uzbekistan international to ply his trade in the Italian top-flight was Ilyos Zeytulayev, who spent time at Juventus, Reginna, Verona, Pescara, Lanciano and Torino, as well as loan stints with Crotone, Genoa and Vincenza, during a near decade-long stint in Italy.
  
• Shomurodov is just 12 strikes shy of levelling Maksim Shatskikh's 34-goal record for the country's most goals in their history.

The man in his own words

"I used to watch Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba as a kid. I admire Torres so much for his style of play and I like Drogba for his confident performance on the pitch. I have been working hard to become a striker like they were.

"As a forward, the most important is to score as many goals as possible, to be helpful to the team and make the fans happy.

"I want to score in every game I play. My dream is to become the best goalscorer in the history of Uzbekistan’s national team. I will do my best to achieve this goal."