Chelsea clear-out as Jose Mourinho plans to replace his entire strike force at end of the season

Sport 4 April, 2014 12:48

Jose Mourinho will attempt to dump all four of Chelsea’s strikers to help fund an overhaul of his forward options. The Chelsea manager must raise the cash to bid for top targets Diego Costa and Mario Mandzukic, and to comply with Financial Fair Play rules.

Owner Roman Abramovich will not to stand in the way of Mourinho trying to sell or loan out £50 million record purchase Fernando Torres. Romelu Lukaku is already seeking a new club, Demba Ba will be sold and Samuel Eto’o is expected to leave.

Mourinho can bank around £32 million, the size of Costa’s buy-out clause at Atlético Madrid, by selling Lukaku and Ba. Eto’o’s departure would save £7 million in wages and Chelsea want the £9 million annual salary of Torres off the wage bill.

Chelsea are already making strides towards addressing their huge wages outlay. It emerged on Thursday night that the club’s wage bill has been overtaken by Manchester United’s for the first time in more than a decade and they are also below Manchester City’s.

Chelsea’s wage bill in 2012-13 was £176 million compared to £182 million for Manchester United in the same season, while Manchester City’s was £233 million. Wages at Stamford Bridge club actually fell overall in 2011-12, and the rise last season was around three per cent compared to an 11.6 per cent increase at United.

Mourinho would now like to sign Costa and Bayern Munich’s Mandzukic, while also securing a third, cheaper striker to provide reliable backup. Didier Drogba’s Galatasaray contract expires at the end of the season.

Sources in Italy claim former Napoli winger Ezequiel Lavezzi, who scored for Paris St-Germain against Mourinho’s side in the Champions Leagueon Wednesday night, is also on Chelsea’s list of forward targets.

Mourinho’s frustration with his batch of misfiring strikers has boiled over in recent weeks, to the point where he started without an out-and-out forward against PSG. Torres was given half an hour as a substitute, but Mourinho complained that he had no “real strikers” after the 3-1 defeat that left Chelsea facing an uphill task to reach the semi-finals.

Torres has scored just nine goals under Mourinho and cut a lonely and sullen figure as he trudged through Gatwick airport in the early hours of Thursday after Chelsea had flown back from Paris.

The Spaniard has admitted he would be interested in a return to Atlético and could be used as part of Chelsea’s bid for Costa. He is also a target for Inter Milan, who favour a loan move over a permanent deal. Both clubs may struggle to match the 30-year-old’s £175,000-a-week wages.

Lukaku’s agent has admitted he has already held talks with Tottenham Hotspur over a summer move to White Hart Lane as he looks for a new permanent home.

As revealed by The Daily Telegraph last week, Spurs have placed Lukaku at the top of their summer hit list. He has spent the season on loan at Everton, scoring 13 goals in 26 games in all competitions, but will be part of Mourinho’s cull. Chelsea value Lukaku, 20, at £25 million and Everton may struggle to raise the funds to sign the Belgian permanently.

The Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, is prepared to support a move for Lukaku and offer him a significant rise on his £40,000-a-week wages.

Lukaku’s agent, Christophe Henrotay, said: “I’m looking for a club for Romelu. And yes, I’ve talked to Daniel Levy once, but that doesn’t mean Romelu will definitely join Spurs. That’s not a talking point at this moment.

"There aren’t 20 teams that can afford to buy Romelu. He won’t go from Everton to, let’s say, Swansea. There’s also a difference between Everton that plays against relegation and an Everton that fights for European football.”

Eto’o’s contract runs out at the end of the season and he can pick between a former club, Real Mallorca, and offers from MLS clubs in America after Mourinho was filmed joking about the 33-year-old’s age.

Ba almost joined Arsenal on loan last summer and will be allowed to leave this year, with Chelsea just looking to recoup the £7 million they spent on him in January 2013.

Having revealed £49.4 million losses for the year to June 30, 2013, Chelsea must balance the books. PSG will make substantial bids for both Eden Hazard and Oscar, but the Blues insist the pair will not be sold.

Mourinho will listen to offers for Brazilian David Luiz, who scored an own goal against PSG, and a sale could net Chelsea as much as £30 million.

Chelsea also have the option of bringing in more money by selling one of their goalkeepers, Petr Cech or Thibaut Courtois, the latter having spent three seasons on loan at Atlético.