Is Andre Villas-Boas Set to Bring Porto Stars To Stanford Bridge With Him?
Richard | Jun 27, 2011 | Comments 0
Now that Andre Villas-Boas has been installed as the new boss at Chelsea, speculation is already underway on what players the 33 year old manager will bring to Stamford Bridge and naturally, the rumour mill has started by linking him with the star players at his former club, FC Porto in Portugal.
The one very obvious candidate that has been linked in various media sources is leading striker Radamel Falcao, who scored 41 times in 50 appearances under Villas-Boas at Porto last season. This included the winning goal in the Europa League Final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin against SC Braga.
The 25 year old striker’s goal scoring instincts and ability have already seen him linked to Real Madrid who are in the process of beginning talks with his agent. However, it is understood that Falcao has concerns regarding the squad system at Real Madrid and is unsure of how many games he will actually start. Add to the mix that Chelsea are rumoured to be prepared to better Real’s terms, offering over £5m a year to move to London as well as a guarantee that he will start as lead striker, then it is likely the Colombian will be bound for the English capital rather than its Spanish equivalent.
If Falcao does make the move, then it would appear that one of or both of, Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka, could be on their way out of Stamford Bridge. It also could pose difficulties for Fernando Torres, who was only bought by the Blues for £50m Liverpool in January, but could only manage a single goal in his fourteen appearances. His woeful beginning at Chelsea has led to all sorts of speculation that he too could be on his way with the fans at Chelsea apparently unconcerned. However, any sale would be a costly for the club who would make a huge loss on the player and it is likely that he will be given a fresh start under Villas-Boas to prove himself once again, as one of the Premier League’s most prolific strikers.
Another target of Villas-Boas accoridng to the papers is Givanildo Vieira de Souza, aka, ‘The Hulk’. This versatile Brazilian forward, with posisbly the best name in football, has proved to be a handful for most defences that have come up against him in the last couple of years. He can play left, right or in the middle and has scored 36 goals in 70 outings for Porto since moving to Europe from Japanese side, Tokyo Verdy. He is a great friend of Falcao’s and would no doubt relish the thought of playing in the Premier League but it is believed Manchester City are also interested in him!
These two players are the stand out choices and pick of his former club’s squad and Villas-Boas will no doubt have a shortlist of other transfer targets from clubs around Europe. He will be well aware that Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovic, will be looking for immediate success, namely the Champions League, and if that success does not arrive, he will be all too aware of the fate of those who preceded him in the Stamford Bridge dugout. Chelsea are currently second favourites behind Manchester United in the Premier League Odds for the 2011/2012 season but as Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho found out, winning domestic honours such as the title or FA Cup, is simply not enough for the Russian Billionaire.
Falcao and the Hulk will be in Argentina for the next three weeks, playing for their respective countries in the Copa America, which may make any potential deals more difficult to complete. However, Chelsea’s spending spree will not be exclusive to these two players so expect plenty of comings and goings in West London over the coming weeks.
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