Chelsea refuse to take part in bid war for £53m Edinson Cavani and turn attentions to Robert Lewandowski
Chelsea have finally agreed an £18 million deal to sign Germany international André Schürrle, but will not enter a bidding war for Napoli striker Edinson Cavani and are now considering a move for Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski instead.
Bit of a stretch: Edinson Cavani is priced too high for Chelsea's tastes Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Jason Burt6:25AM BST 14 Jun 20134 Comments
Cavani is among the targets being pursued by Chelsea as new manager Jose Mourinho is given the funds to strengthen his forward line.
It will contain Schürrle, who can play on the left of a three-man attack, after a deal was finally thrashed out with Bayer Leverkusen for the 22-year-old.
Telegraph Sport revealed a year ago that Chelsea were bidding for Schürrle, who had been identified as a potential signing by Andre Villas-Boas when he was the club’s manager.
At that time, Leverkusen refused to sell and the club had been holding out for a deal which would include taking Kevin de Bruyne on loan.
Neither De Bruyne, who preferred a permanent move to Dortmund if he was to leave Chelsea, nor Mourinho favoured that option and it now appears that the Belgium international will be given a chance at Stamford Bridge.
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Leverkusen sanctioned the sale of Schürrle, “subject to the completion of legal documentation and related matters, including personal terms and passing a medical”, only after agreeing to buy Korea international Son Heung-Min from Hamburg.
Chelsea’s pursuit of a new front-line striker is less certain. There is interest in Cavani but the club have consistently stated he is over-priced and that they will not enter a bidding war that could also include Real Madrid.
Both Chelsea and Manchester City, who had been favourites to sign the 26-year-old Uruguayan, are balking at the £53 million buy-out clause.
Reports in Italy on Thursday claimed Chelsea had submitted a revised offer of £42.5 million but this was strenuously denied by club sources.
At the same time, Cavani’s mother, Berta Gómez, was quoted as having told Uruguayan radio that her son “is talking to Madrid and City”. She added: “The Napoli president, Aurelio De Laurentis, has spoken to Chelsea but there’s nothing concrete.”
Chelsea have been considering other options, including Fiorentina’s Stefan Jovetic – even though he is a different type of striker – City’s Edin Dzeko and Manchester United's Wayne Rooney.
A more recent addition to their considerations has been Lewandowski after Dortmund announced they would not sell the Poland striker to Bayern Munich.
United have been pushing hard for the 23-year-old, who is priced at £25 million even though he has just one more year left on his contract, but their interest has cooled meaning that Chelsea might make their move.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will announce on Friday that Marina Granovskaia, who has been a senior adviser to Roman Abramovich for 17 years, is joining the club’s plc and executive boards as a director.
Granovskaia becomes a main board director along with chairman Bruce Buck, chief executive Ron Gourlay and director Eugene Tenenbaum, a key associate of Abramovich who has spent less time at Chelsea recently as he has been involved in other businesses.
Chelsea stress it is not a sign of Abramovich trying to take a firmer grip on the club. Instead, it recognises the value of Granovskaia who, since 2010, has been more heavily involved in the running of Chelsea acting as the owner’s representative, working with the club’s directors, and liaising with the manager.
However, because of the high-profile nature of Chelsea, and role the club have in world football, Granovskaia will immediately be regarded as one of the most powerful women directors in the sport.
Chelsea believe the appointment will simplify the decision-making process and the ease with which lines of communication will be available to Abramovich.
Granovskaia was born in Russia and has dual Russian and Canadian citizenship, having graduated from Moscow State University in 1997 before working at Sibneft, the oil company formally owned by Abramovich.
Since then she has become Abramovich’s de facto chief of staff, looking after various business interests while her involvement with Chelsea has grown.
