Chelsea threaten to end their pursuit of South America duo
The duo have been long terms targets for us, with Hulk being the most heavily linked, and there has been no end to rumours of them moving to Stamford Bridge over the course of the summer, but financial reasons have prevented either signing.
It is the Brazilian that has been linked with us the longest, especially since Andre Villas-Boas joined us last summer and the links have not broken since the Portuguese manager was sacked in March. But we’re unwilling to meet the demands of Porto for the player. Reports suggest that although he has an £80 million release clause, they will let him go for around £38-40 million.
Hulk did not wish to discuss or think about his future whilst on international duty at the Olympics but has now publicly stated that he would like to move to England and may even attempt to force a move, so we’ll have to watch this space in regards to this particular saga.
As for Cavani, he’d be allowed to go for around £35 million which is also a hefty fee, but it’s not necessarily the reason that we will end our pursuit of him. He’s asking for £150,000-a-week in wages and according to the Daily Mail, Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo has made it clear that we will not pursue the forward unless he lowers his wage demands.
I think Chelsea have one more big signing in them before the end of the window and it could very well be one of the two above, although we cannot rule out a complete suprise…Neymar? (wishful thinking). In relation to Cavani and Hulk, the latter would represent more value for money in my opinion as he’d likely start on the right and can play backup to Fernando Torres. Cavani is also fairly versatile, but I wouldn’t be mooting him for a starting place as a winger.
In other news, unrelated to the two above, Victor Moses’ move to Chelsea could be close (AGAIN!) as Wigan have signed Arsenal’s Ryo Miyaichi on loan, who could potentially replace Moses in the side and pave the way for his return to London.