Roman really means business. Personal terms not sorted, but FFS how much can he spend this summer? Without a Manager, mind. Chelsea agree £38m deal for Brazilian international Hulk from Porto ⢠Striker will shortly open discussions on personal terms ⢠Chelsea already have £32m deal in place for Eden Hazard Share 129 Email David Hytner guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31 May 2012 18.00 EDT The £38m deal for Hulk comes on the back of a £32m agreement to sign Eden Hazard from Lille. Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images Chelsea have agreed a fee of £38m for the Porto striker Hulk and the deal is ready to be closed. The figure has been brokered by facilitators working on behalf on each club and, with the Brazil international's personal terms not expected to be an obstacle, it merely remains for the directors on both sides to sign the relevant paperwork. The Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, as ever, will reserve the right to renegotiate until the last minute yet there is a confidence, not least on Hulk's part, that there will be no glitches, after what has been a lengthy process, and that he will get the move that he has craved, subject to a medical. Porto have been happy to push the line about Hulk's release clause being â¬100m and although the Guardian has now learned that the figure is â¬60m [£48m], the Portuguese club have been forced to accept less, not least because only Chelsea have been willing to make a competitive offer. The release clause was never going to be binding. Porto had wanted no less than £40m but Chelsea have haggled them down. The fee, however, represents an eye-watering outlay and, on the back of the £32m deal that Chelsea have put into place for the Lille attacking midfielder Eden Hazard, it is a serious statement of intent from Abramovich, who still does not have a permanent manager. Roberto Di Matteo, the Champions League-winning interim coach, remains in the dark about his future, with his Stamford Bridge contract set to expire at the end of June. Abramovich has a frosty relationship with Di Matteo and it is clear that he is exploring other options, with the former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola his ideal candidate. Guardiola says that he needs a break from the game. Abramovich, with the help of his influential technical director, Michael Emenalo, is calling the shots and the Russian drove the capture of Hazard, a player who stands to inject greater fantasy into Chelsea's game. Hulk is also considered a player to excite the crowd, a powerful and clinical presence, who can play as the centre-forward or off the right, where he is likely to feature for Chelsea. Ron Gourlay, the club's chief executive, made it clear last Wednesday that Fernando Torres would start next season as the team's No9. Abramovich made it a personal mission to sign the Spain striker in January of last year from Liverpool for £50m and despite Torres's poor goals return â he has 12 in 67 appearances for the club â the owner is determined to see him prosper. "Fernando Torres is the man that we will go forward with and Fernando Torres will score us the goals," Gourlay said. Torres's principal competition last season came from Didier Drogba but the 34-year-old has left the club as a free agent and he is ready to sign a contract at Shanghai Shenhua that is worth â¬300,000 a week after tax, which would make him one of the highest paid players in world football. The current leader is the Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, who takes home â¬423,000 a week after tax at Anzhi Makhachkala. John Terry, the Chelsea captain, has been banned by Uefa for three European club matches over his red card against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final. Terry had to sit out Chelsea's win in the final against Bayern Munich and will miss the Super Cup match against Europa League winners Atlético Madrid in August, plus Chelsea's first Champions League group-stage match in September. Chelsea's moves for Hulk and Hazard are a big part of the plan to rejuvenate a squad that lagged 25 points off the Premier League title pace. Along with Drogba, José Bosingwa and Salomon Kalou have been released while the club are open to offers for Florent Malouda and Michael Essien, both of whom have one year to run on their contracts. Chelsea have also added the young wingers Marko Marin from Werder Bremen and Kevin de Bruyne from Genk, each for £7m fees. Hulk, 25, has been in Chelsea's sights all season. His record is outstanding â 57 goals in 91 games in the past two seasons â and there is the belief that he can improve at Stamford Bridge. Neither Hulk nor Hazard have allowed the uncertainty over the managerial position at Chelsea to deflect them. Together with the Spaniard Juan Mata, they stand to form a potent trio behind Torres.
a physical player with an eye for goal and a mean shot. if they can fit all those egos into a first eleven, chelsea are going to be a force to be reckoned with next season.
before adding hulk in there, that line-up looked lightweight - take the stoke approach and you could bully that team. hulk and an industrious new centre mid (or they bring essien back from the dead), and that team will wipe the floor with most.
Is there a place for Sturridge after Roman finishes buying? Where the hell does he go? I know it's a long shot (wage wise), but it must be worth an enquiry from MoN at the minimum?
Surely mate, we have to at least ask a few questions! He hasn't a cat in hells of playing. They'll replace Essien (sadly, injuries have ruined him) as well, i'd suggest they gazzump Arsenal for M'Vila, they will have to sell some. Downside, they may keep Sturridge for the English quota alone.
Honestly, it's irritating to see talented players waste away on the bench. Essien is done, sad. Always enjoyed his game.
What chance do us mere mortals have when we just have poor billionaires owning us, Chelsea and City have players who cant make the bench who most other teams would die for.
Ramirez. That's who plays instead of your ?, M'Vila wouldn't get into that side either, Mikel is far better.
Short could probably do this if he wanted, he is worth over 4 billion. But he wants to build a successful business around the club. To me Short is in it for the business challenge as well as the entertainment. Its easy to spend a fortune and buy the league, City and Chelsea have both done it recently and you could argue Man U have done it for years. It would be more satifsfying for Short to build a team and business that can compete and be financially sustainable. In the business battle that is the ultimate prize. As for Hulk Chelsea are going to have a superb first 11, the question is can the new manager keep all the players happy. We should make a bid for Sturidge if for no other reason than to show other potential signings we mean business. I would rather have him than any of the other players we have been linked with so far.
To be fair in terms of FFP, I think they'll have banked some serious money off a CL win. Some say that alone is worth 100m. Then you factor in the likes of Drogba, Kalou, Bosingwa, Malouda, Ferreria moving on and you can see they have a big pot of money to play with. They'll be right up there with Man U and Man C
I rekon they are going to push chelsea all the way this season if there new signings hit the ground running and gel with the players they already have. They have some exciting players in there side now with pace and good ability on the ball, if Abramovich can get the man he wants in Guardiola to take over I can see them having a fantastic season playing some good attacking football. They still need 3 or 4 players IMO a right back after Bosingwa's departure and the man to replace him seems to be Van Der Wiel at Ajax a defensive midfielder to challenge Mikel for that spot as it seems likely Essien will be off. a centre forward who can get them goals, I think it will be Cavani or Falcao If they have a side like this for the start of the season they can do very well... ------------------- Cech ------------------ V D Wiel --- Ivanovic ---- David Luiz --- Cole --------- Ramires ---------- Mikel ---------- -- Hulk ----------- Mata --------- Hazard -- -------------- Cavani/ Falcao -------------- then they have the likes of Marin, Lukaku, Sturridge, De Bryne, Courtois, Romeu, Cahill and Torres who are all good players with time on there side. I know I left Terry and Lampard out but personally I cannot see Lampard being a regular and as for Terry he will play but I cannot stand the ****! Would rather see Ivanovic and Luiz
Poolie, Bar Mikel, that side is stunning. Better than City, streets ahead of United (personel wise, without the SAF factor).
Ano mate, I couldn't think of a defensive midfielder who they have been strongly linked with but if they got in someone like M'Villa to compete with Mikel they would be awesome
