Chelsea’s interest in Bolton’s Gary Cahill is clear. Owen Coyle admitted there has been discussion between the two clubs and it looks like the English centre-back will be the Blues first signing in the January transfer window. When it comes to Chelsea’s other meanderings in the transfer market, we are more or less in the dark. Of course, that won’t stop certain online media machinations from churning out the usual unfounded dross.
Which brings me to this story I recently read in TribalFootball: Roman Abramovich is ready and willing to bankroll a massive £150m Chelsea spending spree in 2012.
Chelsea’s largely inconsistent form in 2011 has made it clear that there’s lots of work to be done to get the Blues competing with the two Manchester sides once more, but do we really expect Chelsea to increase their outgoings on such a large scale?
It’s clear that something needs to be done, but stories like this do nothing to manage Chelsea fan’s expectations and leave the general public facing unrealistic expectations when it comes to Villas-Boas’ transfer dealings.
So who are Chelsea willing to splurge £150m on next year? Apparently the Blues top targets are £50m-rated Napoli striker Edinson ‘El Matador’ Cavani and his team-mate Marek Hamsik. Two top players, no doubt, but do we really believe that Napoli would be willing to sell their most important players to Chelsea (especially considering that the two sides will be Champions League opposition next year)?
Cavani in particular would make for an astute signing, but at £50m he would represent a bit of a risk. Last time Chelsea spent that much money on a striker they ended up with Fernando Torres and we all know how well that went. For that matter, wouldn’t Chelsea’s money and time be better spent getting the most out of Torres?
Whilst Fernando hasn’t had the best of time in Chelsea colours, there’s no doubt that he’s a quality player and if the club could get the most out of him they wouldn’t have to worry about making more big-money signings.
Chelsea are also said to be interested in Juventus winger Milos Krasic, though they may face competition from Manchester United for his signature. With Florent Malouda growing in age, Krasic may well be the ideal replacement.
But whilst I agree with Chelsea’ pursual of Krasic, the most bizarre thing about TribalFootball’s article is this: They value Cavani at £50m, Hamsik at £30m, Krasic at £20m and Cahill at £7m. If my maths is correct that adds up to £107m – so where has the £150m spending spree headline come from? Just goes to show, even the internal logic of these bogus transfer rumours don’t add up anymore.
The one thing I would take from this, however, is that Milos Krasic would be an excellent addition to this Chelsea squad.
But what’s your take? Would you take any of these stars at Chelsea?
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