Chelsea have reportedly made a ‚é¼40 million bid for Parma sensation Alberto Gilardino.
Premiership champions Chelsea have reportedly made a ‚é¼40 million bid for Parma sensation Alberto Gilardino.The Italian international has been one of Serie A's most impressive strikers over the past two years and had been consistently linked with a summer move to Milan.
Parma chief officer Luca Baraldi recently slapped a ‚é¼50 million price tag on him, and the Italian press are now reporting that Blues owner Roman Abramovich has responded by faxing through an official offer for the 22-year-old.
Jose Mourinho has been public in declaring the need to bolster his attack, with Parma old boy Adriano also linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, and the willingness of Abramovich to stump up such significant transfer funds could see them jump to the head of the queue for Gilardino.
The Rossoneri could well be priced out of a move for the Italian international, despite apparently being close to sealing an arrangement which would have seen Gilardino at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza until 2010.
Arsenal and Juventus have also been linked with a swoop which would substantially alleviate Parma's financial concerns, although the player himself admitted to being concerned about the high figure placed on his head.
Gilardino revealed that he was dreaming of moving to a big side and refused to rule out an overseas transfer, opening the door to the possibility of linking up with Mourinho next season.
"I've told Baraldi I'm not so sure teams will be able to spend such a high sum on me," Gilardino told La Stampa.
"Parma defined a price, then its possible to negotiate, in the sense at the end of the market they will probably sell me for an inferior sum.
"They need that money and I'm happy my sale could help Parma's financial situation, and then I'm happy that I can make the big jump.
"Fear of a big jump? When dreams become true they don't make you fearful.
"I'll have the possibility to play in a big team, and I'll do it with humility, as usual.
"I'm ready to put myself under discussion, would I like to play with [Alessandro] Del Piero? Yes, but I'd like to play with [Andrei] Shevchenko too.
"Abroad excluded? Absolutely not."
