Speculation continues to mount that Chelsea have agreed a £25million deal to with Internacional for the signature of young Brazilian star Oscar. The transfer rumour mill has been working overtime on this deal in recent days with earlier reports suggesting that the London had club had tabled a £20 million bid that had been knocked back. London rivals Tottenham were also in the race for the 20-year-old Brazilian international.

Chelsea seem eager to boost its squad with quality players, and they will be a title challenging team this seas. As of now Bet365 are offering 6.00 (5/1) on them to win the Premier League 2012/2013.

A transfer is apparently now back on for Oscar who arrives in London this week as part of the Brazilian Olympic squad. News of his possible signing was quickly followed by suggestions that Chelsea are looking at Edinson Cavani with a fee rumoured to be in the region of £35 million. How much truth is behind this story remains to be seen, just as there has been no move on the continuing saga of Porto striker Hulk, another member of the Brazilian squad this summer. Chelsea’s Brazilian duo of Luiz and Ramires must be doing some good PR work on behalf of the club to have their compatriots lining up for a summer move!

At the time of writing, Chelsea have not added to their early summer signings of Marko Marin and Eden Hazard but that may not be the case for much longer. With Drogba and Kalou already departed, they will surely be looking to add to their front line options. Their midfield is starting to look very creative, if not a little over-crowded and it would be no surprise if there were further speculation about the future of the likes of Frank Lampard and Michael Essien in the coming weeks. Already capped six times for his country, the capture of Oscar would send a clear signal that the young guns were ready to take over at the Bridge.

Hulk has long been seen as a possible successor to Didier Drogba but the Porto star has firmly stated that he has had no contact with Chelsea to date. Last season he was thought likely to join former Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas at Stamford Bridge but he still have four years left on his existing contract and it is anybody’s guess how much money his club are asking for. Last year Chelsea were also linked with a move for yet another Brazilian star in Neymar from Santos but that was another deal that never transpired. Out-of-favour French international Florent Malouda could be going in the other direction. He has only one year left on his contract and is looking to secure regular first-team football rather than see out another season spent largely on the Chelsea bench. Santos have declared an interest in the 32-year-old but may struggle to meet his wage demands. Marin and Hazard will presumably be in direct competition with Malouda for a starting place next season.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

written by Harvey \\ tags: Brazil, Cavani, Chelsea, Chelsea FC, Essien, Hulk, Internacional, Lampard, Luiz, Malouda, Oscar, Porto, Ramires, Santos, transfer