European champions Chelsea have wasted little time in showing their ambition to dominate the Champions League by making a €40m (£32.3m) bid for Brazilian starlet Lucas Moura.
The 19-year-old Sao Paulo winger, who has a £64.6m release clause in the his contract, is also wanted by Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
But the Blues have stolen a march on their European rivals by making the massive bid.
Sao Paulo rejected the Chelsea offer but president Juvenal Juvencio admits they are close to winning the race for Moura.
He was quoted as saying in the Evening Standard: ‘At the moment it is Chelsea that are the closest team to Lucas.
‘Inter have presented an offer but that was not considered satisfactory to us. Real Madrid are another one of the teams and there have been contacts with [president] Florentino Perez who admires the player very much.
‘I do not know what it will take [for Moura to leave]. There are many factors. He is happy here and he will only go if there is an important proposal.’
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has targetted another four European titles after Saturday’s Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich and drawn up a summer hitlist featuring the likes of £50m-rated Radamel Falcao and Brazilian striker Hulk.
But the Moura bid casts doubt on their interest in Lille’s £35m-rated Eden Hazard, who is also a target for both Manchester clubs, as the Blues will not want to sign both players.
Hazard had opened the door on a move to Stamford Bridge by admitting that Chelsea’s Champions League victory has made a difference to his plans.
The Lille playmaker is heading for the Barclays Premier League and says he wants his future decided by Saturday week, when he will play for Belgium against England at Wembley.
The development shows that Abramovich is happy to take control of team affairs as he mulls over the future of interim boss Roberto Di Matteo.
Chelsea are keen to offer just a one-year deal to an experienced coach so they can push for former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, who is taking a break for 12 months, next summer.
Fabio Capello is an option but they may stick with Di Matteo after guiding the side to a FA Cup and Champions League double.
By Sportsmail
