Stamford Bridge side line-up audacious White Hart Lane raid.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is preparing for a busy summer of transfer activity as he seeks to conduct something of a squad re-shuffle after an average comeback season.
CaughtOffside understands that the Portuguese boss is keen to put his stamp on a squad that is still predominantly the one he inherited from interim manager Rafa Benitez and will continue to look to balance signings with sales in an attempt to adhere to UEFA’s FFP (Financial Fair Play) guidelines.
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Mourinho is thought to already have made his interest in Spurs star Paulinho known and is confident of bringing in the Brazilian to boost his midfield contingent.
In order to make way for such an addition Mourinho is set to allow David Luiz to complete a long awaited move to Barcelona, where he will be brought in to act as a long term replacement for Carles Puyol, thus offering the 26 year old the chance to return to his preferred central defensive role having been used chiefly in a defensive midfield role in the last months of the Premier League season.
Paulinho has had a decent first campaign in the English top tier but given that Spurs have failed to secure a Champions League berth there is a very real chance the former Corinthians man would be keen on a move across London, not least as he would no doubt receive sufficient financial compensation to do so, with Chelsea being able to offer a more lucrative wage than the White Hart Lane side.
Mourinho is also said to be a big admirer of Danish international Christian Eriksen and has made the former Ajax man his priority number one should either Eden Hazard or Oscar decide to leave Chelsea during the upcoming transfer window.
PSG have been tracking both Chelsea creative talents and Mourinho’s recent falling out with Belgian attacker Hazard may well lead some to believe that the former Lille man could look to return to Ligue 1.
Hazard called into question Mourinho’s tactical approach following Chelsea’s defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals and in response the former Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss accused the pint sized winger of failing to give 100% to the cause.
Eriksen started the season in average fashion but soon found his feet and was arguably the one member of Tottenham’s seven man spending spree to deliver consistently this term, however as with Paulinho the lack of Champions League football could well be a factor, not least as the 22 year old was a regular to the tournament during his time at Ajax and he may deem the absence of a place in tournament as something of a step backwards for his career.
Chelsea are ready to offer up to £45m for the pair who cost a combined £28m just under a year ago.
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