Chelsea are aiming to splash the cash once more and conclude the signings Tottenham’s Luka Modric and FC Porto’s Alvaro Perreira this week.
The Blues were the original big-spenders with the takeover by Roman Abramovich in 2003 heralding the start of huge shopping sprees on British shores. Their largesse and ensuing success on the field inspired Sheik Mansour to purchase Manchester City and drag them from mediocrity to winning the FA Cup and being viable contenders for the Premier League title.
Now, Abramovich is responding to the threat of City’s riches by sanctioning his second huge outlay of the year. Not content with parting with £73m in January to secure the signings of Fernando Torres and David Luiz, the Russian billionaire has already bankrolled over £50m worth of purchase this summer. Romelu Lukaku has arrived from Anderlecht for £18m, Oriol Romeu from Barcelona for £3.5m, Thibaut Courtois from Genk for £5m with Juan Mata having completed a medical ahead of a £26m transfer from Valencia.
In addition, manager Andre Villas-Boas has requested the signing of Modric and Perreira. A third bid of £30m has been made for the Spurs schemer and it is understood that the player is determined to make the switch across London, leading to him being left out of Monday night’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester United. An official approach has also been made for the Uruguayan with whom Villas-Boas worked in Portugal and while the figure has not been revealed it is believed to be around the same mark as the £25m release clause in his contract.
Should both deals go through at those prices, Chelsea will have spent £107.5m this summer which is pretty impressive even for Abramovich.
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