Chelsea hope to make Juan Cuadrado their first signing of the January window, but may need to offload Andre Schurrle or Mohamed Salah first.
With Manchester City slipping to a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Arsenal, and after leaving Liverpool on the back of a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, it has been a good few days for the Blues as they look to win a clean sweep of honours. They take on Bradford City in the FA Cup this weekend, and Paris St Germain in the UEFA Champions League next month.
So it would be understandable for Jose Mourinho to keep his distance from the transfer market at present, but it appears as though the Portuguese is still looking to improve his options. It has been widely reported that the Stamford Bridge club are in advanced discussions with Fiorentina over signing Cuadrado, who rose to prominence at the World Cup Finals last summer.
According to The Independent, the Colombian midfielder is the overwhelming first choice transfer target for the league leaders, but they may have to offload from their existing squad before bringing the 26-year-old in. Ideally, Mourinho would sacrifice Salah, the Egypt international, who has struggled to get to grips with the game in England since his £11million arrival from Basle 12 months ago.
At that time Liverpool had hoped to take the 22-year-old forward, who has an impressive strike rate of 20 goals in 35 appearances for his country, and Brendan Rodgers may reignite his interest if it becomes clear that the player is available. Hull City are thought to be willing to offer him a fresh chance in England, whilst Italian giants Roma and Turkish side Besiktas have also been linked.
But if there is no acceptable offer for Salah, Chelsea may look to sell Schurrle. The German international helped his national side win the World Cup in Brazil, and has also proved to be a valuable squad member for the London club. However, he is not considered to be one of Mourinho’s most important players, would generate a bigger fee than the Egyptian, and there is firm interest from Wolfsburg.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, are thought to be holding out for £27million for Cuadrado, who was linked with Manchester United and Spanish giants Barcelona during the summer. That was before he put pen-to-paper on a new five-year contract with the Viola and, in doing so, this has allowed the Serie A side to increase his value, something his eligibility for the Champions League has also done.
Would Cuadrado really be a more valuable squad player for Mourinho than Schurrle? Let us know what you think by joining in with the discussion below.
