As soon as Mourinho hits town, the talk of transfers follows soon after. True to form, the Star is today reporting that the special One has identified Manchester City’s Bosnian front man Edin Dzeko to be the spearhead of his new Chelsea outfit.
The talk is that Mourinho has been a long time admirer of Dzeko and tried to sign him for Real Madrid when he first arrived at the Bernabeu. Although his first choice would have been to take Falcao from Atletico Madrid, the Columbian opted for a move to moneybags Monaco instead. Dzeko was the next name on the list.
The striker joined city for some £27million in January 2011, signed by former manager Roberto Mancic. With the new man in the hot seat arriving, it’s thought that Pellegrini is less enamoured by Dzeko, and seeks to develop his team in a different format, hence the player’s availability. Whilst city are happy to sell the player, they won’t be as keen to do business with a rival in the Premier League, even at a price enhanced from the reported £20million that would apply if Dzeko was sold to an overseas outfit. For a player with a record of 30 goals in 76 games for City, and 66 in 111 for former club Wolfsburg, the 27 year old remains a potent striker, and City wouldn’t want to have the sale come back and bite them on the backside.
According to the report in the Star however, there may be a device that lets the deal go through. Both city and Chelsea are interested in the Uruguayan striker Cavani, currently residing in Napoli, but widely reported to be moving on this summer. Should Chelsea decide to back out of the race for Cavani, it could leave City with a clear field to close a £60million deal.
Personally, I’m skeptical of the story. Whilst Dzeko is certainly capable of being a more than useful acquisition to any top premier League club, the idea of Chelsea backing away from Cavani – if they are interested in him – merely to acquire a Manchester City player whose recent position has been as a bench warmer, seems a little strange. Clearly the worth of players is very ‘coach-dependent’ and if the story has merit, then perhaps Mourinho sees something in Dzeko that Pellegrini does not. Should the deal go through however, it will be interesting to review at the end of the season and see who has got it right.
Source: DSG
