Stamford Bridge side set sights on Villa Park and Anfield hot-shots.
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Returning Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has been linked with his fair share of summer signings and has already brought in youngsters Andre Schurrle and Marco van Ginkel to both strengthen his Blues squad and in doing so has continued to adhere to the Stamford Bridge side’s youthful transfer policy.
Today the Portuguese manager has been strongly linked with moves to bring a pair of Premier League hot-shots, both of whom had excellent seasons in front of goal in 2012/13.
The Telegraph claims that Chelsea are ready to make a move for Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, who last night had reportedly put in a transfer request, less than a year after moving to Villa Park.
The 22 year old had an excellent first term in the English top tier, netting 23 goals in all competitions and in effect helped keep Paul Lambert’s side from relegation to the Championship. Now the former Racing Genk man appears to want a high-profile move but Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner will demand a fee of at least £25m, three times what the club paid for the powerful striker last August, and though some may baulk at such a price-tag it’s likely to not be a valuation that will scare off billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
Benteke would presumably jump at the chance of a move to join Chelsea and the reigning Europa League champions can not only offer the Aston Villa man Champions League football but more than likely can also offer the forward a huge increase on his current £20k a week deal.
Factor in the presence of a number of fellow members of Benteke’s Belgian national team; Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku to name just three, and it seems entirely plausible that Chelsea could be the Aston Villa man’s next destination.