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19 March 2024

Chelsea bring Hulk to smash Man Utd, Arsenal

Porto's Hulk was a target of both Chelsea and Spurs. (REUTERS)

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By Staff

Porto striker Hulk is waiting for a call from Chelsea who are looking for a powerful striker to replace Didier Drogba.

Chelsea is the preferred destination for Hulk who has expressed his desire to move to the Premier League.

Manchester United, City and Arsenal must be alert but they will be disappointed to hear that the Brazilian striker was giving first preference to Chelsea.

The Daily Mail quoted his agent Teodoro Fonseca as saying: "For sure Hulk will only leave Porto for a big club and a big league and I can say that we like the Premier League a lot.

"At the moment, Chelsea is a club which is more interesting than ever, because they’ve become European champions and are without doubt one of the biggest in Europe.

"A lot of people would like to play there and of course it would also please us a lot. We know they will need to reinforce themselves as they’ve just lost Drogba and can lose other important players and that perhaps increases the chances of getting closer, but we will only make the step after listening to the Porto board."

Hulk and Neymar are the two hottest properties in Europe.

Having netted 21 goals in 38 appearances for Porto, he has also attracted interest from AC Milan and Bayern Munich.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich is in talks with the Portuguese club, who want a massive £38 million, according to the Daily Express.

But Chelsea will not willing to pay more than £30m.

Fonseca, who was at Chelsea's Champions League final against Bayern, said: "We are open to talks with Chelsea at any time, any place.

"There is interest, but at the moment there is still nothing concrete.

"He likes the English Premier League a lot and Chelsea are a good club for Hulk."

Hulk has a buy-out clause of 100 million euros, but Porto may be willing to let him leave for less than this.

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Chelsea-bound Hulk seals title for Porto

Porto clinched their 26th Portuguese Premier League title after fierce rivals Benfica slipped to a 2-2 draw at Rio Ave on Sunday, extending their decade-long domination of Portuguese football.    

The northern club won 2-0 at Maritimo on Saturday thanks to two penalties by Brazil winger Hulk who is reportedly bound for Chelsea.

Second-placed Benfica's draw left Porto with a six-point advantage and with only two matches remaining the "Dragons" have a better head-to-head record.

The title win means Porto, European champions in 1987 and 2004, have won eight league trophies in the last 10 seasons.

Thousands of Porto fans cheered and chanted in downtown Porto as the squad celebrated on a balcony in the Dragao stadium.

"This championship was very complicated but what counts is that we won it in the end," Hulk told Portuguese television.

"I was watching Benfica's match in a Brazilian restaurant and would prefer to have won the title on the pitch but this also counts."

The feat is a major achievement for Porto coach Vitor Pereira, who took over from Andre Villas-Boas in June last year, although it will be Porto's only trophy this season.

"It is not easy to substitute a coach that won so much as Andre did. This year was one of learning and I am sure that there are still many titles to be won and I feel it is my destiny to give this club many more titles," a smiling Pereira said.
 
"Today's joy comes from deep inside".

Pereira struggled at times to live up to his predecessor's glorious 2010-11 season but will take satisfaction from the domestic league trophy despite falling short of last year's treble of league, Cup and Europa League.

Porto were humbled in the Champions League, stunned twice by underrated APOEL. They drew 1-1 at home and lost 2-1 in Nicosia, exiting at the group phase. They went into the Europa League but were knocked out by Manchester City in the round of 32. 

They also suffered an early exit from the Portuguese Cup but Pereira expertly managed to recover in the league after Benfica led by five points in February. One of the season's key moments was Porto's 3-2 victory over Benfica in a 'Clasico' in March. 

"Thank you to all those who kept believing in us. The group stayed tight even in the toughest moments and we managed to overcome adversity," said a grinning Joao Moutinho.

Porto kept the backbone of last year's successful squad, with only striker Radamel Falcao and midfielder Ruben Micael as noteworthy departures.

Hulk and promising young Colombian James Rodriguez stood out as the two top scorers while hard-working midfielder Moutinho and winter signing Lucho Gonzalez played important parts.

Pereira, 43,  previously Villas-Boas's assistant at Porto, had previously managed clubs in the lower divisions and spent two seasons in charge of Porto youth teams.