Out with the old and in with the new! Italian tabloid Gazzetta dello Sport has reported that Andre Villas-Boas looks set to make his mark on Chelsea by attempting to sign Athletico Bilbao centre forward Fernando Llorente and offloading Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.

A whole host of European clubs have been tracking the 6ft 5in centre forward in a below average Bilbao side, most notably Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham , as well as Real Madrid who are also being continually linked with Llorente. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is expected to reignite his interest in signing the 26 year-old but Chelsea have now joined the race, while Bilbao are said to be reluctant to sell their star man to another La Liga club.

Blues billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has reportedly given Villas-Boas the green light to make an estimated £25m bid for the Spanish striker with either Drogba (33) or Anelka (32) having to make way. The contracts of both strikers expire next summer with AC Milan considering moves for both, while Russian big-spenders Anzhi Makhachkala are said to be interested in Anelka. Either striker could be snapped up for a bargain price in January or else Chelsea run the risk of losing the duo for nothing.

Article courtesy of Graham Duckworth from the Transfer Tavern

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