Chelsea is preparing a shock bid for Napoli strike sensation Ezequiel Lavezzi, with Salomon Kalou being offered as part of the deal.
The news is surprising considering Andre Villas-Boas has a host of forward options with Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka now joined by Romelu Lukaku, and with Daniel Sturridge having impressed on loan at Bolton last term and for his own club in pre-season.
But the Portuguese tactician is growing increasingly anxious with his current crop of strikers. Torres continues to misfire, with just one league goal and one pre-season goal to his credit since his £50m arrival in January. While it seems the years have caught up with ageing strikers Anelka and Drogba, but both remain important influences off the field.
Villas-Boas is not totally convinced by Kalou and is willing to offload the Ivorian to land Argentine forward Lavezzi, a player that the former Porto boss has admired for quite some time. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has previously stated that it will cost at least a £27million bid to land the 26-year-old South American. But Chelsea will tempt the San Paolo-based club by offering £17m as well as the £10 million rated Kalou.
The Ivorian's availability comes as a surprise and he started Sunday's draw at Stoke City. But age is on the side of Sturridge, who is serving a three-match suspension but is expected to play a significant role this term.
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