Speculation was rife that Chelsea had reached an agreement with Porto of around £38m for the attacker, but in the last few days, talk of the move has cooled, and the moneybags in France, PSG, have come out and put their hand in, saying that they could well be willing to pay up to £45m for the hitman.
His price-tag has rocketed since he got on the scoresheet for Brazil this summer, and has had a good run of games in the International set-up.
Chelsea and Hulk both want to be united, but it looks increasingly like this might not happen, especially due to rows over clauses in his contract also.
Chelsea won’t be held at ransom, Hulk’s agent receives about 5% of any transfer fee, whilst there are also rumours that 10% of his rights are held by Uruguayan club Atletico Rentistas, and Porto want the extra money to be paid by Chelsea, or whoever will agree to pay that on top of a fixed transfer fee.
Chelsea may well decide to look elsewhere, and Stevan Jovetic of Fiorentina may well be in the running, despite the club telling The Blues he is not for sale. He scored 14 goals in 27 games last year, bursting onto the European stage. He is rated at around £20m, so a much cheaper option than Hulk, and is only 22 years old. Should Chelsea forget about Hulk, they may well be able to offer that little bit more than would tempt the Italian side.
Another name that will be thrown into the ring will be that of Malaga CF starlet Salomon Rondon. The 22 year old blasted 11 goals for his side this season as they qualified for the Champions League, and is seen as a Drogba-esque type of player.
However, Malaga are certainly not short of money, and with Liverpool and Tottenham, as well as German sides interested, They will try to hold out for about £20m for the Venezuelan.
Another option could be Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski. Talk of a move to Manchester United has cooled, and Chelsea are also keen on Dortmunds right-back Lucasz Pizsczek. Lewandowski has scored 30 times in just 67 games for the Bundesligas top team, and his opener is Polands first Euro 2012 game has alerted Europe’s top teams.
Chelsea have Torres, Lukaku and Sturridge already in their ranks, so is it worth spending the money on a big name?
Who would you like to see Chelsea buy? Do you want us to break the bank for Hulk, settle for a cheaper and younger option, or risk the strikers we already have?
By Brad Smith
Follow @BrummieBrad
All we need is a talented player, that will be a backup for torres, let go in for modric,hulk and van der wiel/ debulchy and all is okay next season because next epl will be tough so we need tough player with powerful striking force!!!
yes we need hulk
Offload Malouda, Essien, Sturridge, and Benayoun, Bring on another Strong striker and another Defender, we have plenty of mid right about now… Marko, Hazard, Mata, Ramires, Lampard, Meireles, Mikel… Let's not forget about Josh Mceachran and Romeu Oriol Who have proven that they can hang with the big boys (don't twist my words on this one). Do we really want unhappy big names chillin on our bench because we have alot of mid? As far as Strikers, right now we only have 3, Torres, Lukaku and Sturridge (kalou leaving if he hasnt already), letting go of Sturridge, bringing on another strong striker, sending Lukaku on loan and have Mata play up top if needed will work just fine in my book.
Nice words, I think Lukaku should be sent on loan for at least a season, and I think a lot of selling has to be done.
Yes, Kalou has already left so that is one out of the way. I agree with the midfielders, i think we should focus on moving Malouda/Essien/Benayoun first and then focus on signings.
Yes,al we need is incredible hulk 2 balance s.b,any other player is rubish,ad me on 2go,my username is tosinadex1
We certainly must not rely on what we have! Neither Torres, Sturridge nor Lukaku are reliable strikers! We need a striker who is under 25 yrs old, plays for his national team, and has a high scoring percentage at club level. I am still for Cavani or Falcao. Hulk would work but we must not be held to ransom. Make one offer, no more than 35M. It will be good for CFC if they can become known as a one offer, take it or leave it, team.
Cavani and Lavezzi seem to be no-gos it seems. Jovetic and Rondon are both decent options I think and would be much cheaper.
Im backing Torres to have a big one this season, he just needs a decent partner or Mata and Hazard either side! Unbeatable!!
Just get hulk thats all