Brazilian striker Givanildo Vieira de Souza, known to most simply as Hulk, will be switching the blue & white stripes of FC Porto for the all-blue of Chelsea, apparently the only club willing to bid anything even remotely close to the £80 million release clause the Portuguese champions are asking for.
After Eden Hazard completed his transfer for the sum of £32 million, Roman Abramovich and his crew aren’t wasting any time bolstering the squad that did win the Champions League this season, but was for from impressive when doing so or with their league form, finishing outside the top 4 for the first time in the Abramovich era.
With Hulk’s personal contract not going to be an issue, it’s a matter of the transfer fee. Hulk has been a target of Chelsea’s for more than a year, and although there were rumors during the season that Anzhi Makhachkala are interested in spending some outlandish sum on the Brazilian, nothing really fruitful came out of the rumors.
Most sources suggest that Chelsea will be offering £38 million for him, with Porto, not seeing a huge line of suitors cmoing for their prized posession, accepting a figure far lower than Hulk’s release clause.
Hulk, who began his professional career with Vitoria of Salvador in Brazil spent four years in Japan, mostly with second division clubs before getting picked up by the famous Porto scouting system. He has been with Porto since 2008, winning three league titles with the club and the UEFA Europa League in 2011. With all likelihood, that’s the best he was ever going to achieve with the club.
Known mostly for his shot’s power, Hulk has scored 76 goals in 166 appearances for Porto, adding 55 assists in all competitions. He led the league in scoring (2010-2011) once with 23 goals, winning the player of the year award for that undefeated season under Andre Villas-Boas. In Chelsea, with the knowledge of Fernando Torres getting assurances of being their go-to front-man next season, Hulk will probably play a wider role, although he was never confined to just one role with Porto.