Chelsea enquire about Galatasaray hit-man Burak Yilmaz
Published:Galatasary’s Burak Yilmaz could be the latest addition to Chelsea’s attacking arsenal.
Reports suggest that the west London club have enquired about the availability of the Turkish centre forward after a strong first year with the Süper Lig champions, in which he scored an impressive 24 league goals as the Istanbul club retained their title.
It has been his form in the Champions League though, that has brought him to the attention of the European elite. Eight goals in the competition, including the winner against Manchester United, means he is only surpassed in the scoring charts by Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski.
With Jose Mourinho’s arrival at Stamford Bridge imminent, Roman Abramovic is ready to open his war chest once more and a bid of around £20 million should secure Yilmaz’s services. The Blues are 5/2 to win the Premier League next year.
Despite Demba Ba’s relatively successful first term at Chelsea, Didier Drogba’s boots remain unfilled. Between them, Ba and Fernando Torres – who still more often than not looks like he needs a footballing coup de grace – they have only managed 14 league goals, and both the owner and Mourinho will be keen to add to their attacking options.
Romelu Lukaku has been impressive on loan at West Bromwich Albion, but whether he is ready for life at Chelsea is another matter and West Ham are keen to borrow the Belgian next year.
Blues fans may be concerned that Yilmaz is not the big name they crave, after being linked for some time with names such as Radamel Falcao and Edinson Cavani. The former could now opt to join cash-rich Monaco while the Napoli man has been linked with a swap deal to Man City, with Edin Dzeko going the other way.
However, Yilmaz’s credentials should not be dismissed. 33 goals in 34 league games for Trabzonspor in his previous season is an imposing tally in a rapidly improving league and he could turn out to be the clinical front-man Stamford Bridge has been missing.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
