AC Milan's Vice-President has reported that Chelsea have made an 'astronomical' bid for playmaker Kaka. According to reports, the Italian side would be wanting a fee in the region of £50 million for the Brazilian star and with former national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari getting the backing from Roman Abramovich to begin a super-sized Summer spending spree coupled with any possible transfer going a long way to wiping out the Rossonieri's debts, a deal would appear to suit both parties.
If Kaka does sign for the club, he'll arguably become the biggest star ever to sign for Chelsea but what's the betting the club is being forced into paying far too much money for players - in other words, are their valuations inflated purely because the Blues come a'knocking?
For the Brazilian star himself, I would rush to deny this as for me he is one of the game's true greats at the moment and is playing at his peak right now. Let's face it - there is no way right now that Chelsea (or any other English cub) could ever prize Ronaldo away from Old Trafford if the club themselves had anything to do with it and I highly doubt that the player himself would be willing to move to another Premiership side, this is one reason why betting on United to retain their title is so strong right now.
Lionel Messi is a great player but the same can be said about his chances of making a switch right now in his career, Barcelona have already stated that it would take an offer in the region of £80 million for them even to consider a transfer. After spending much of his early life in the Catalan region it is unlikely that the player would want to leave Barca so early in his career either.
There are other players who could be named such as Torres or Gerrard, players which are highly sought after but becoming increasingly difficult to sign. Perhaps Kaka is a rare breed, a player who is close to his peak and available – if the price is right.
Galliano himself has spoken out about the transfers of both Kaka and Andrea Pirlo stating that "all we would need to do in order to wipe out our debts is sell Kaka and Pirlo". This could be mind games for the Blues as they search seemingly to create the most potent midfield quartet in world football after signing Deco shortly after this summer's European Championships. On the other hand it could be an untimely slip of the tongue from Milan's Vice President and the catalyst for Chelsea to move in and make an offer the Rossonieri - to quote the Godfather - 'could not refuse'.
If The Pensioners do entice the 26-year-old to the club it could also trigger moves for other potential transfer targets in David Villa and David Silva such is Kaka's value to these forward players. To have the Brazilian delivering delightful ball after sumptuous pass must be as appetising as a cold pint on a hot Summers day - not that we get many of those in Blighty!
Chelsea fans themselves must be licking their lips at the thought of seeing potentially an attacking line consisting of Silva, Kaka, Deco, Essien, Ballack and Villa, not to mention Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Philips, Kalou and, if still there in August, Frank Lampard. Nor too must those against Chelsea want to see the likes of those mentioned above flowing forward towards the opponent's goal.
What is certain (if you believe everything you read in the paper) is that this season's Premier League campaign looks set to include an array of talent never seen before on these shores. Seems like we say that every year...
Showing posts with label Kaka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kaka. Show all posts
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Saturday, 14 June 2008
Phil your boots, Scolari
Well, it seems to be happening again. As soon as Chelsea appointed Felipe Scolari as their new manager than the rumours of their Summer spending began and there have been a number of 'headline hunters' that are well and truly in Scolari's sights.
Scolari has wasted no time in ruffling feathers with one of his biggest rivals next season - Sir Alex Ferguson - after apparently telling Cristiano Ronaldo that he should move to Real Madrid. No doubt this has earned him massive kudos with the Chelsea faithful and proven early on that he won't be showing any respect to Ferguson purely down to the Scot's stature in the English game.
When not dashing any future positive relationship with the Manchester United manager, Scolari looks as though he has already begun the chase for his inaugural Summer signing with current Barcelona midfielder Deco seemingly destined for The Bridge in July.
Officials at Barca have claimed that the former Porto player will not be moving to West London this Summer but the BBC's Mike Sewell - their man in the Portugal camp for this month's European Championships - believes that many are tipping the player to make the move to Chelsea.
Sewell told the BBC that his contacts "believe Deco will go with Scolari rather than join up with old boss Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan". This follows a statement from Barcelona telling prospective buyers that Deco was free to leave the Catalan club.
Deco chose to join Barcelona four years ago ahead of the Blues but it looks as though Chelsea's climb to a Champions League Final coupled with an injury-hit season for the midfielder has boosted their chances of capturing his signature this time.
The next big name linked to Scolari's Blues is the ever prolific Fernando Torres and if Chelsea were to pull off such a coo the betting on Chelsea for next season's title would go through the roof.
Okay, so I could have picked a different photo for this one but hey, artistic license and all that.
The striker has been linked with a move to SW6 for a number of years but following Liverpool's successful bid to land the youngster last Summer, any chance of signing the Spaniard appeared to have been lost for The Blues but with a seemingly bottomless transfer kitty being put forward for Scolari, a new bid is likely - not that Liverpool are going to be willing to sell their star asset.
After a truly staggering first season in England (totalling 33 goals) it's no doubt that he is once again linked with The Blues and it's highly unlikely that other teams aren't sniffing around but the player himself and Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry have made it very clear that it's in both their interests for the player to stay on Merseyside.
Parry told a press conference that "Fernando Torres is just not for sale to anyone. It is as simple as that, really - he is not going anywhere", and after a brilliant display against Russia in Spain's opening match of Euro 2008 which has led to many people placing bets on Spain to lift the trophy at the end of this month, Torres spoke out on the interest saying that "I want to say very clearly that I'm not on the market and it is my desire to continue at Liverpool."
"I am very happy at Liverpool and want to carry on."
It seems unlikely that Torres will be moving anywhere anytime soon but another player, and arguably the biggest name of the three, is appearing as a player which Scolari - and every Chelsea fan - will focus much of his attention upon come July.
Kaka is seen as the missing piece in the puzzle for Chelsea as their search for the Champions League title continues and with both Scolari and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich keen on the player, much of the transfer budget is likely to be set aside on bringing one of world football's greatest talents to Stamford Bridge.
Leonardo, Milan's Technical Director who, like Kaka, played under Scolari during his playing days with Brazil has come forward to deny any rumour before they can gather momentum.
He stated that Kaka is a Milan player and will remain that way until the end of his career but with the player smack-bang in the middle of his peak, the Blues are set to offer a massive sum for the attacker which could force Milan's hand.
One thing which is for sure is that no matter what happens this Summer it's almost inevitable that Chelsea will be spending figures not seen since Abramovich's takeover of 2003.
Scolari has wasted no time in ruffling feathers with one of his biggest rivals next season - Sir Alex Ferguson - after apparently telling Cristiano Ronaldo that he should move to Real Madrid. No doubt this has earned him massive kudos with the Chelsea faithful and proven early on that he won't be showing any respect to Ferguson purely down to the Scot's stature in the English game.
When not dashing any future positive relationship with the Manchester United manager, Scolari looks as though he has already begun the chase for his inaugural Summer signing with current Barcelona midfielder Deco seemingly destined for The Bridge in July.
Officials at Barca have claimed that the former Porto player will not be moving to West London this Summer but the BBC's Mike Sewell - their man in the Portugal camp for this month's European Championships - believes that many are tipping the player to make the move to Chelsea.
Sewell told the BBC that his contacts "believe Deco will go with Scolari rather than join up with old boss Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan". This follows a statement from Barcelona telling prospective buyers that Deco was free to leave the Catalan club.
Deco chose to join Barcelona four years ago ahead of the Blues but it looks as though Chelsea's climb to a Champions League Final coupled with an injury-hit season for the midfielder has boosted their chances of capturing his signature this time.
The next big name linked to Scolari's Blues is the ever prolific Fernando Torres and if Chelsea were to pull off such a coo the betting on Chelsea for next season's title would go through the roof.
Okay, so I could have picked a different photo for this one but hey, artistic license and all that.
The striker has been linked with a move to SW6 for a number of years but following Liverpool's successful bid to land the youngster last Summer, any chance of signing the Spaniard appeared to have been lost for The Blues but with a seemingly bottomless transfer kitty being put forward for Scolari, a new bid is likely - not that Liverpool are going to be willing to sell their star asset.
After a truly staggering first season in England (totalling 33 goals) it's no doubt that he is once again linked with The Blues and it's highly unlikely that other teams aren't sniffing around but the player himself and Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry have made it very clear that it's in both their interests for the player to stay on Merseyside.
Parry told a press conference that "Fernando Torres is just not for sale to anyone. It is as simple as that, really - he is not going anywhere", and after a brilliant display against Russia in Spain's opening match of Euro 2008 which has led to many people placing bets on Spain to lift the trophy at the end of this month, Torres spoke out on the interest saying that "I want to say very clearly that I'm not on the market and it is my desire to continue at Liverpool."
"I am very happy at Liverpool and want to carry on."
It seems unlikely that Torres will be moving anywhere anytime soon but another player, and arguably the biggest name of the three, is appearing as a player which Scolari - and every Chelsea fan - will focus much of his attention upon come July.
Kaka is seen as the missing piece in the puzzle for Chelsea as their search for the Champions League title continues and with both Scolari and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich keen on the player, much of the transfer budget is likely to be set aside on bringing one of world football's greatest talents to Stamford Bridge.
Leonardo, Milan's Technical Director who, like Kaka, played under Scolari during his playing days with Brazil has come forward to deny any rumour before they can gather momentum.
He stated that Kaka is a Milan player and will remain that way until the end of his career but with the player smack-bang in the middle of his peak, the Blues are set to offer a massive sum for the attacker which could force Milan's hand.
One thing which is for sure is that no matter what happens this Summer it's almost inevitable that Chelsea will be spending figures not seen since Abramovich's takeover of 2003.
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