Arsenal

Chelsea Set To Beat Arsenal & Liverpool To £10m Spanish Attacker

Chelsea look set to beat off competition from Arsenal and Liverpool to secure a deal for Napoli attacker Jose Callejon this summer, according to reports.

by
Fraser Crawford
July 23, 2015

With the summer transfer window in full swing, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Chelsea close in on a deal for Jose Callejon….

Chelsea look set to beat off competition from Arsenal and Liverpool to secure a deal for Napoli attacker Jose Callejon this summer, according to the Express.

Callejon started off his career at Real Madrid and came through their youth ranks before breaking into the first team and went on to score 20 goals in 77 appearances before being sold to Napoli in 2013.

The Spanish international has enjoyed a solid two seasons in Italy having scored 32 goals in 102 games for the Serie A outfit but his future has been called into question following the exit of Rafa Benitez and it’s led to speculation over a potential move to England.

The Express reported earlier this month that Arsenal were set to open talks over a potential deal to sign the 28-year-old while the paper suggested Liverpool were also keeping a close eye on the attackers situation in Naples.

However, it appears the duo are set to miss out as the Express are now citing reports coming from Italian outlet Football Italia that claim Chelsea are now closing in on a £10m deal to sign Callejon this summer.

The newspaper suggests that with Mohamed Salah and Juan Cuadrado expected to leave Stamford Bridge over the coming weeks, Jose Mourinho has targetted Callejon as a potential replacement.

Mourinho knows the Spaniard well from their time together at Madrid and it was actually the Portuguese coach who re-signed him in 2011 after Callejon had spent a three year spell at Espanyol, so history tells us he’s a fan.

Obviously we’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming days but I’m sure there’s still time for the likes of Arsenal or Liverpool to still try and hijack Chelsea’s proposed deal.

Callejon is a versatile attacker who can play anywhere across the front three positions, including up front as a central striker, so he’d give any new manager plenty of options in the final third.

I personally don’t see him as an elite player and he hasn’t really lived up to his early potential, but he’s still got plenty of talent and would be a solid signing for any of the English trio.

Let’s see if there is any progress over the next few days but if the Football Italia report is accurate, then it looks like Chelsea are now in pole position to secure a deal and I think he’d be a risk worth taking for just £10m.