Stamford Bridge side linked with interest in Anzhi duo.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is reportedly interested in taking advantage of Russian Premier League side Anzhi’s intention to balance the books by selling a number of their top talents according to El Confidencial and the Daily Mirror.
Anzhi have put up their entire squad for sale and it appears that striker Samuel Eto’o would be one of the first to be shown the door as the former Barcelona man is by some distance the biggest earner at the Dagestan based club.
Whilst Eto’o is no spring chicken the 32 year old still has a few years in the tank and has not lost his scoring edge since moving to Russia, the lethal finisher managing 36 goals in 71 appearances for Anzhi.
Eto’o is clearly a striker with a rich pedigree, we are after all talking about a three time Champions League winner, and the Anzhi man could perhaps be keen on a first stab at Premier League football having successfully plied his trade in La Liga and Serie A.
Samuel Eto’o first emerged on the scene at Real Madrid but failed to make the grade at the Bernabeu and was moved on to Real Mallorca where he honed his craft. 69 goals in five seasons earned a move to Barcelona where he well and truly put himself on the map as one of the deadliest finishers in world football.
At the Nou Camp Eto’o racked up 129 goals in 201 appearances, helping the Catalan side to three La Liga titles and two Champions League triumphs, one of which was of course against suitors Arsenal.
A move to Inter Milan saw Eto’o scored 53 goals in two seasons during which time he helped the San Siro side to a historic treble under the guidance of Jose Mourinho before a move to Anzhi in August 2011.
Now Mourinho may well see Eto’o as an ideal addition to beef up his attack, especially given that both Demba Ba and Fernando Torres struggled for form last term, and Chelsea may well be able to offer a salary somewhere in the region of his current deal which sees the forward earn €20m a year after tax.
The West London side are also tracking Brazilian attacker Willian, who had previously been linked with a move to join the Blues before completing a £30m switch to Anzhi.
The 24 year old could now apparently be available for a lot less and Mourinho may well feel that the playmaker could offer a further direct attacking dimension to his Chelsea side.
The winger could well be tempted by the chance to join national team colleagues David Luiz, Ramires and Oscar at Stamford Bridge. Willian hasn’t impressed since moving to Anzhi, netting just one goal in 15 matches and the opportunity to re-ignite his career in the Premier League could be tempting and if a decent fee is offered then Anzhi may well elect to sell the former Shakhtar Donetsk man.