Edin to Chelsea? Dzeko in line for Blues switch
Published:Fernando Torres’ Chelsea career appears to be nearing its conclusion with two top European teams prepared to offer the Spaniard a lifeline on the continent.
New Napoli manager Rafa Benitez, who signed Torres for Liverpool and got more out of him than any other Chelsea manager during his period in west London, is interested in taking his former employee to Italy and it is 3/1 that he signs before the end of the summer.
However, Benitez will face competition for El Nino’s signature from La Liga giants Barcelona who are said to want Torres to swap the highly-paid bench of Stamford Bridge for the highly-paid bench of the Camp Nou and are priced at 13/2 to acquire his services.
Either way, it looks as though the Spaniard’s Chelsea days are over and according to the betting, Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko is being lined up as a replacement.
The Bosnian found first-team chances hard to come by at the Etihad last season and with new manger Manuel Pellegrini looking to put his own stamp on the Citizens’ squad, Dzeko could be in line for a move to the capital.
As with most big transfers, the Dzeko deal hinges on movement elsewhere and while Chelsea are 10/11 favourites to land the Sky Blues hitman, Napoli are also keen, should they fail to land Torres, and are priced at 4/1.
Borussia Dortmund could also turn to the City man should Manchester United and Bayern Munich target Robert Lewandowski leave and the Champions League runners-up are available at 9/2.
Dzeko, however, is not the only forward on Jose Mourinho’s radar, as Wayne Rooney, who has yet to backtrack on a transfer request at Old Trafford, provides odds of 5/2 to end up at Stamford Bridge before the summer window closes.
The “Happy One” would be truly ecstatic if he could partner the England striker with his Real Madrid lynchpin Cristiano Ronaldo, who is priced at 6/1 to swap the Bernabeu for west London.
One thing is for certain though, with new managers at the top three clubs in the league this summer could prove one of the most eventful on record.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
