Source: Telegraph
Villarreal target Chelsea's Florent Malouda
The Frenchman, who move to Stamford Bridge from Lyon in 2007 for £13.5m, has failed to establish himself as a first-team regular, despite showing early promise when he first arrived in England. [LNB]Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant and now Luis Felipe Scolari have all lost patience with the 28-year-old. [LNB]Now, with almost two weeks remaining of the transfer window, Villarreal are set to offer Malouda a route out. [LNB]The main stumbling block will be the price, according to the Mirror[LNB]. Chelsea want to recoup as much of the £13.5m they paid for Malouda, meaning Villarreal's £9m valuation falls some way short. [LNB]Meanwhile, Scolari has targeted Wigan winger Antonio Valencia as a replacement for injured Joe Cole. [LNB]Scolari regards Valencia as an obvious replacement for Cole, because of his Premier League experience, but concerns are that the Chelsea hierarchy are not willing to commit the £12m-plus fee that would be required. [LNB]Chelsea have also been told that Benfica winger Angel Di Maria has a buyout clause in his contract set at £27m, after the devaluation in the pound. [LNB]That price would rule out any chance of Chelsea buying the player, as he would not be an automatic choice in the starting XI. [LNB]
