LONDON — Chelsea’s hopes of landing Brazil star Hulk seem to be over after Zenit St Petersburg offered to pay £40 million for the striker.
The Blues have refused to budge beyond their £30 million valuation of the Porto man, and withdrew from negotiations in the hope that Hulk and his agent would force the Portuguese champions to come back to the table at a more realistic price.
But the involvement of Zenit, who have also offered to throw in Portugal central defender Bruno Alves as part of the deal, blows Chelsea’s hopes of a change of heart by Porto out of the water. Ironically, Zenit are owned by Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom, who were recently announced as a sponsor of Chelsea.
While Hulk — real name Givanildo Vieira de Souza — appears keen to leave Porto, his agent Teodoro Fonseca has hinted that the Premier League is not the be-all and end-all for his client.
