Stamford Bridge boss desperate to spend big in pursuit of prolific marksman.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is seemingly desperate to resolve the lack of effective striking options in his current Stamford Bridge squad and has drawn up a three man list of targets to fill the void according to the Daily Express.
Top of the Blues boss’s list is Napoli’s Edinson Cavani, a player that Chelsea have actively pursued for some months. There is a fear that PSG hold the upper hand in the chase to sign the 26 year old Uruguayan with the Ligue 1 champions ready to pay as much as £56m for the Serie A top-scorer.
Mourinho is ready to break Chelsea’s £50m club record transfer fee in order to land Cavani but could struggle to edge back into the race with a move to the Parc des Princes seemingly looking very likely at present.
However Chelsea are said to have agreed personal terms with the Napoli man so perhaps their pursuit of Cavani is not quite dead in the water.
Edinson Cavani has been a massive success since moving from Palermo to Naples three years ago, scoring 104 goals in 138 appearances and helping to make the San Paolo side a genuine domestic title contender.
Should Mourinho fail to land Cavani then he will turn his attention to Brazilian powerhouse Hulk, with a move to sign the 26 year old assisted by the good relations between Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and his Zenit St Petersburg counterparts.
Mourinho is keen to bring in a striker signing having already signed Andre Schurrle and it seems entirely possible that both Fernando Torres and Demba Ba could be sacrificed by the Blues boss as he looks to put his stamp on the he inherited from interim manager Rafa Benitez.
Hulk has managed just 11 goals in 30 appearances in his first season in Russia, during which his Zenit side lost their grip in the domestic crown they had held the previous two campaigns.
Prior to his move to the Petrovsky Stadium Hulk had proven a big success in Portugal, scoring 54 goals in 99 Primeira Liga fixtures and 78 goals in total for FC Porto.
If Chelsea’s pursuit of both Cavani and Hulk fail then Mourinho will look to land Borussia Dortmund ace Robert Lewandowski, though one would imagine that a move to do so would be more problematic than advances for either the Napoli or Zenit forwards.
The 24 year old Pole has scored 66 goals in the past two seasons but seems to have his heart set on following former team-mate Mario Goetze to the Allianz Arena, however Borussia Dortmund have stated categorically they will not allow such a move to occur.
This leaves Lewandowski, and his Westfalenstadion employers, in a tricky situation.
The prolific Bundesliga striker has just a year to run on his contract and remaining at the club for the duration could be a tough proposition, the club’s supporters being more than aware of his intention to join the club’s arch rivals.
Similarly Dortmund would presumably prefer to make some money from the player’s sale but know that selling to Bayern Munich would not only anger their fans but would have a detrimental affect on their chances of wrestling back the domestic title they held for two seasons prior to last term.
Therefore selling to a non German side like, for instance, Chelsea could be an option the club consider, though Lewandowski would then end his dream of moving to Bayern Munich.
Mourinho could perhaps tempt the Borussia Dortmund ace into making a move to Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea being more than able to trump any salary offer Bayern Munich were to offer.