Chelsea Transfer News: Big Names Eyed by Jose Mourinho, Latest Rumours

Chelsea are reportedly ready to enter the race to sign Anderlecht striker Aleksandar Mitrovic this summer, as Jose Mourinho looks to add to his options up front.

According to Simon Jones of the Mail on Sunday, both Swansea City and Newcastle United have already had approaches rejected by the Belgian giants, who apparently value the Serbia international at £15 million. Jones claims that the Blues, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool all kept tabs on the 20-year-old last season.

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Now Chelsea could be ready to make their admiration from afar into something much more tangible, it seems. Here’s a look at what they would be getting:

With Didier Drogba leaving the club, you’d imagine Mourinho will be looking for a player who has similar physical presence. And while Mitrovic isn’t quite as indomitable yet as the Ivorian was in his prime, there’s no denying he has the quality to go far in the game.

But as Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe noted last season, it’s the player’s mentality and laboured approach to his football that could cost him a chance of going to the very top:

If any manager is going to expedite a change in the player’s mindset, it’s Mourinho. Mitrovic would potentially give the Blues a refreshed option at the sharp end of the pitch and working alongside someone like Diego Costa, arguably the most effective lone striker in the Premier League at the moment, he’d learn plenty.

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But you fear for the amount of minutes he would get at Stamford Bridge and for a young player looking to make a critical step in his young career, that’d be a big concern. Especially if, as expected, Radamel Falcao joins up with Mourinho in the capital.

The Blues’ potential move for the Colombian front man has been widely criticised, but former Liverpool player Mark Lawrenson has hailed the transfer as another “masterstroke” by the Chelsea boss and has lamented his former club for not moving for the striker.

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“[If I was Brendan Rodgers] I'd have gone for Falcao—£7 million on a loan?” said Lawrenson, per Aaron Flanagan of the Daily Mirror. “I would have taken him. Jose Mourinho is pulling off a masterstroke. He played well with Diego Costa at Atletico Madrid so I think it's a bonus, I really do.”

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wilson is less convinced, though, as we can see here:

After a dismal season for Manchester United, the striker’s fortunes haven’t improved at the Copa America. Falcao started all three group games, turning in a trio of ornamental displays at the point of the Colombia attack. So it was no surprise when Jose Pekerman decided to drop the 29-year-old from the starting XI for the quarter-final loss to Argentina.

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As we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, even though he’s the captain of the side, Pekerman had little choice:

Chelsea could potentially be a club which could rekindle his fire, though. The Blues have plenty of creative talent and while Falcao is not as mobile as he once was, if his goalscoring instincts are still sharp, then with Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas playing behind him he should help himself to plenty of goals.

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But should Mourinho be bringing in a player like Falcao when there are plenty of the club’s bright academy prospects desperate for a chance in the first team? Bleacher Report’s Tighe ran the rule over some players who will be looking to make the grade:

Falcao’s switch to Stamford Bridge looks inevitable at this juncture, but for the player it doesn’t make too much sense. While the prospect of working with Mourinho will be enticing, for a forward who seems to be struggling to recapture his sharpness, minutes on the pitch are absolutely critical.

With Costa running riot in the Premier League last season and Mourinho’s preference for playing with one striker up front, it looks unlikely that there’ll be any change in his starting forward. As such, Falcao faces a massive fight, not only to get in the team, but secure the requisite playing time to rediscover some kind of form.