Double trouble: Chelsea hope to complete the £60m
double swoop for Tottenham's Luka Modric and Valencia's Juan
Mata
Chelsea
are ready to make an emphatic title statement by bidding
£29million for Valencia winger Juan Mata and upping their offer for
Tottenham’s Luka Modric.
Andre Villas-Boas has told Roman Abramovich he
needs to inject more flair into his side and the billionaire
Chelsea owner is backing his young manager to the tune of
£60m.
So far this summer, Chelsea have watched
Manchester City and Manchester United splash more than £50m to
breathe fresh life into their teams, and now Abramovich is ready to
make his move.
As revealed by Sportsmail, Chelsea had a
£22m bid for Mata rejected by Valencia this week. They will now
return to the Spanish club with an offer of £27m, plus £2million in
top-up payments.
Mata was the star of this summer’s European Under
21 Championship, and he is believed to be desperate to move to the
Premier League. He has also been tracked by Arsenal and
Tottenham.
Villas-Boas has also persuaded Abramovich to dig
deep in an attempt to wrap up the signing of Tottenham star Modric.
Chelsea have previously bid £27m, and Spurs boss Harry Redknapp
reluctantly indicated on Wednesday that he might have to sell his
star midfielder.
There is a substantial block to any deal in the
shape of Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, who has declared that
Modric is not for sale ‘at any price’.
Better bench: Andre Villas-Boas knows his Chelsea side
has little in terms of strength in depth
Villas-Boas chose his words carefully yesterday when
pressed about Modric, saying: ‘The only thing I can say is just
that it can happen. I don’t know to what extent we can go regarding
his price because we are speaking about a high amount and nothing
else, basically. End of story.’
He added: ‘Whatever comes from Harry’s mind is
his own opinion about the situation. I just have to study the rest
of the market and hopefully find a solution for my team.
‘It depends on a lot of things. It depends on
Chelsea’s decision - if they are willing to go forward or not; up
to which value and to decide whether they want to keep the interest
in the player. It doesn’t depend on me. It’s not my
money!
‘Luka, on this particular occasion, is a young
player but there would be for sure a sensible price to
pay.’
Playing catch-up: Manchester City have already
strengthened to the tune of more then £50m
Villas-Boas acknowledged the impact a star signing -
such as £38m striker Sergio Aguero at Manchester City - could make
to his side. He is optimistic they will deliver at least one
big-name player this summer, with a midfielder the priority in
light of Michael Essien’s six-month absence after knee
surgery.
Villas-Boas said: ‘We are happy with what we have
running into the West Brom game. With Essien’s injury, it’s fair to
say we might go to the market regarding a midfielder.
‘For the first competitive games, bearing in mind
the group phase of the Champions League, the start of the Carling
Cup, we might just add a number in midfield.’