Neymar - Spotlight on
Chelsea are set to challenge Manchester United for Neymar’s signature next summer, according to reports.
Neymar was on Manchester United’s wishlist in the last window, and Louis van Gaal apparently tabled a late offer for the Brazilian superstar.
The 23-year-old’s father admitted that tax complications could force his son to leave the Nou Camp.
And Spanish news outlet Don Balon claim Chelsea are one of four clubs that will launch a bid for Neymar next summer.
The other four the report claims, are Manchester United, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea have reportedly been told they can sign Shakhtar Donetsk striker Alex Teixeira if they meet his £30million asking price.
The Brazilian has caught the attention of Europe’s top clubs after scoring 19 times in 13 Ukrainian Premier League appearances this season.
Jose Mourinho is keen to bolster his flagging strike force, especially with Radamel Falcao tipped to leave Stamford Bridge in January.
And according to the London Evening Standard, Shaktar aren’t willing to haggle over Teixeira’s valuation.
However, should the Blues sign Texieira, he will be ineligible for the Champions League as he is cup-tied.
Didier Drogba reckons Fernando Torres struggled last Chelsea, because he wasn’t the main focal point of the team.
Torres struck just 20 times in 110 appearances for the Blues.
And Drogba believes Torres couldn’t cope with not being the ‘king’ at Stamford Bridge.
“At Chelsea, there were 22 kings. So I really felt for Nando [Torres], because I knew how difficult the situation was for him. At Liverpool, the team was geared around him as their main striker,” Drogba wrote in his autobiography ‘Commitment’.
“It wasn't that others couldn't score – they could – but they fed him the ball, they structured the team around him with the aim that he would score. That's not how it was at Chelsea."