Who needs Kaka? £45m Aguero is the new Chelsea
target
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Chelsea have made moves to secure the £45million signing
of Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero, only to be stunned by his
wage demands. After losing out to Real Madrid on the signing of
Kaka, owner Roman Abramovich is determined to flex his muscles in
the transfer market and has turned his attention to the explosive
21-year-old Argentina striker.
Intermediaries have held talks, but the two parties are haggling
over wages. Aguero, who would smash the British record fee of £34m
for Manchester City’s Robinho, is demanding a salary of £6.5m a
year after tax, which means Chelsea would have to pay him nearly
£11m a season.
This astonishing figure is even more than the rumoured £200,000
a week Kaka will earn at Real Madrid in his six-year deal, worth
around £10m a season.
The Stamford Bridge hierarchy believe Aguero’s demands are too
high, even for the latest diminutive Argentinian international to
be hailed as the ‘new Maradona’.
Aguero is engaged to Diego Maradona’s daughter, Giannina, and is
the father of his first grandchild, Benjamin Aguero Maradona, who
was born in Madrid in February. The 5ft 7in striker, who was
expected to miss his country’s 2010 World Cup qualifier against
Ecuador later tonight with a thigh strain, scored 17 goals in La
Liga last season.
But Aguero and strike partner Diego Forlan, who contributed 32
goals to Atletico’s cause, have been linked with moves away from
the Vicente Calderon this summer. Chelsea, now managed by Italian
Carlo Ancelotti, have been keeping tabs on
Aguero for some time.
The FA Cup winners recognise the need to add some quality young
players to their ageing squad and have yet to nail down the deal to
keep Didier Drogba.
As revealed in Sportsmail last week, Ancelotti has convinced
Abramovich to give the Ivory Coast striker another chance. Drogba
was primed to leave following his over-the-top reaction after
Chelsea’s Champions League semi-final defeat to Barcelona, but has
since been offered a new three-year deal.
Chelsea are also targeting Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery after
accepting their
two other main transfer targets have slipped through their
fingers.
Kaka, 27, Valencia striker David Villa and Ribery were the three
original names on Chelsea’s list of summer spending, but the France
winger is now the only viable option.
Kaka joined Real Madrid in a £56m deal on Monday and Villa, 27,
looks set to follow the Brazilian to the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has made no secret of his
desire to add Ribery to his new breed of galacticos, but Chelsea
remain intent on signing the 26-year-old, who has two years left on
his contract at Bayern Munich.
Manchester City will ask for £10m in compensation if — as
expected — teenage
striker Daniel Sturridge quits Eastlands for Chelsea this
summer.
City are resigned to losing the 19-year-old to Stamford Bridge
after the youngster allowed his contract run down. But it is
understood that City will pitch for a ‘development fee’ of £10m
when the matter goes before an FA tribunal.
Players under the age of 24 cannot switch clubs under a ‘Bosman’
free transfer, a rule designed to ensure that those who develop
young talent do not lose it for nothing.
City will make a claim for a downpayment in excess of £5m and
propose that the remainder of the money comes in
performance-related instalments. Chelsea will — in all likelihood —
offer substantially less for a player they have been tracking for
three or four years.