Chelsea to bid £30 million for AC Milan’s Alexandre Pato as Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou near exit
Recent reports reveal that English Premier League side http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Brazil-c2858 international, who has been with Serie A giants AC Milan for the past four seasons.
Pato signed with AC Milan from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Internacional-c39573 in the summer of 2007 for an estimated fee of €24 million, but had to wait until January for his transfer to become official. It didn’t take him long to find the back of the net for Milan, scoring his debut goal for the Italian outfit just days after his transfer was finalized. That season he went on to make 20 appearances in all competitions, scoring 9 goals.
In his second season at AC Milan, Pato scored twice as many goals as he did in his first season and with 18 goals in all competitions finished as the club’s top goal scorer. In the 2009-2010 season, the young Brazilian only made 30 appearances due to a recurrent injury. Nonetheless, his performance earned him the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award that year, making him the first Brazilian to win the prestigious title.
Last season, Pato managed to make 33 appearances in all competitions and score 16 goals despite his hamstring injury returning once again. He was sidelined for over six weeks, but returned to make a notable contribution for Milan. Pato scored some important goals as AC Milan claimed the Serie A title, but unfortunately lost out on the Coppa Italia.
This is not the first time Pato’s name has been linked with a move to the London side, with speculation having first started when Carlo Ancelotti took charge of the Blues. The Italian manager made enquiries of bringing the young Brazilian to Stamford Bridge, but a lack of funds at the beginning of his reign didn’t allow for the move to materialize.
However, with Andre Villas-Boas now in charge at the club and looking to add reinforcements to the ageing Chelsea squad, Pato could be the perfect signing. The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Porto-c39186 manager has claimed he is perfectly happy with the existing squad, but made no secret of the fact that he is looking to bring in younger players during the summer transfer window.
The Blues have yet to make any noticeable signings during the current transfer window, even though they have been linked with a host of top players. One of their summer targets http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Paris-Saint-Germain-FC-c40181 instead.
That has cause the Blues to focus their efforts on their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Luka-Modric-c22857, the 25-year-old Croatian. While the player himself is keen on a move, the Spurs are currently not letting him leave which has created a difficult situation for Chelsea, who have already had two bids rejected. They are currently considering making a third, a bid worth £30 million.
One could argue that Chelsea are in no need of another striker, but with reports suggesting that http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Salomon-Kalou-c32266 are close to a Stamford Bridge exit, Villas-Boas will definitely need to bring in another forward. With his incredible pace and ability to find the back of the net, Pato would make a decent addition to the Chelsea squad.
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