One of the more disappointing moments for Chelsea last summer was their inability to sign Hulk from Porto, but maybe a year later, with Zenit possibly looking to sell the player after only one season, the Europa League champions may finally get their man.
Last time around it was a matter of money. Zenit were willing to put up an offer – €40 million, that Chelsea, after already spending quite a lot on Eden Hazard, weren’t willing to match. So the Brazilian forward went to Brazil and was asking to leave by January. Not because of racism that was directed at him by Zenit’s own fans, but because of his relationship with Luciano Spalletti. Later on it seemed that the two have patched things up, but Hulk’s ability in the second half of the season might tell us that he wasn’t too pleased with his place at the moment.
Jose Mourinho has never coached the player, but according to the Daily Mirror he has a keen interest in the Brazilian, who scored 13 goals and added 9 assists in 33 matches last season, slightly disappointing after his impressive tally in Portugal during his last couple of seasons with Porto (57 goals in 91 matches), not to mention missing out on the league title and not making it out of the group stage in the Champions League.
For Chelsea, it seems they’re destined to find themselves with a striker, first and foremost. The scoring production of Demba Ba and Fernando Torres was disappointing, to say the least, if not abysmal at times. While no one is leaving just yet, it’s quite clear that once Mourinho brings in a forward or two to take the Spaniard’s and possibly the Senegalese’s places, the two will be sold in order to raise some more cash for future expenditure.
Hulk has been capped 21 times for the national side which hasn’t been doing very well in its preparations for the 2014 World Cup, most recently drawing with England. There’s a good chance Chelsea will be able to get him for £35 million if Zenit decide that they won’t be able to get much out of him, or at least not what they paid for, with Hulk mostly unhappy in Russia.