Chelsea Transfer Rumors: Andres Villas-Boas Targets Porto Star Alvaro Pereira

The Telegraph reports that new Chelsea manager Andre Villas Boas is targeting Alvaro Pereira, the left wingback who was an integral part of his success during his time at Porto.

Andres Villas Boas, who recently joined Chelsea from Portuguese giants FC Porto, has been targeting a number of players from his treble winning side Porto last season, including Falcao, Rolando, Joao Moutinho, and now Alvaro Pereira.  

Pereira, who has attracted attention with his goalscoring displays for Uruguay at this year's Copa America, is reportedly up for sale following his aforementioned performances, with club president Pinto da Costa ready to cash in on yet another tidy piece of business in the transfer market.

Alvaro Pereira started his career in Uruguay with Miramar Misiones before short stints in Argentina with Quilmes and Argentinos Juniors. His impressive displays there merited a  €2.5 million to Europe, with Romanian side CFR Cluj. There he helped guide the club to Romanian cup glory, and started all of their Champions League group games in their debut campaign. 

In 2009, Alvaro Pereira was bought by Porto for a fee of €4.5 million and after two impressive seasons with the club and many eye-catching displays for his national squad, Porto have stamped a €20 million price tag on the attacking fullback.

Mainly operating as a left-back, Pereira loves to get forward and aid the attack, but is also very solid in defense. Although he can be caught out of position at times, he more than makes up for that with his speed and physicality, meaning Pereira could be an instant hit in the Premier League.  He is able to operate as a left midfielder as well, which leaves a question of where exactly he will fit into former coach Andre Villas Boas's plans.

While displacing Ashley Cole from the starting left back position is almost out of the question, Pereira could possibly slot into the Chelsea midfield, or even push further up the field and replace Florent Malouda if he is deemed surplus to requirement.     

He could also serve a bench role, but the prospect of first team football is critical in Chelsea's bid, especially considering a number of other clubs have shown interest in Pereira, such as Bayern Munich and Arsenal.

On the other end of things, it looks like Porto will be able to cope with his possible departure, with club president Pinto da Costa saying, "If a player such as Alvaro Pereira or Falcao left, FC Porto would continue to play in the same style." Indeed it looks like the Portistas have already lined up a replacement in Santos defender Alex Sandro.

Although relations between the two clubs have taken some major hits over the past few months, it appears that Alvaro Pereira's agent is already in London to discuss the terms of the agreement, and a deal could be struck as early as the end of this week. Although it is something of a risky move for Chelsea, Alvaro Pereira is a very talented player, and we can only wait and see if the deal goes through.