Chelsea Transfer Rumour: Blues Lead Race for Incredible Hulk

Chelsea have had a roller-coaster of a ride this season and will be desperate not only to avoid that happening for the 2012/13 campaign but will also want to ensure their first team squad is composed of more than just grizzled old veterans in the twilight of their career.

There is no denying that veterans like John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba have been at the forefront of the Blues' revolution engineered by interim manager Roberto Di Matteo but Terry is 31, Lampard is 33 and Drogba is 34. As superb as the club's recent results have been, continuing to rely on Terry, Lampard, Drogba and other aging players is a suicidal long-term plan.

The sacking of former manager Andre Villas-Boas in February was followed by threats of a large-scale revamping of his first team squad, with older players firmly in the firing line. It was believed Abramovich was looking for a new and hungrier-for-success set of players and coach.

In keeping with those thoughts, according to a report in the Daily Mail, Chelsea are in pole position to sign FC Porto's Brazilian striker Givanildo Vieira de Souza - better known as Hulk - for a fee in the region of £40 million. The London club have been long-time admirers of the player, whose strength on the ball and immense physical presence earned him his colourful sobriquet.

However, the player's agent, Theodoro Fonseca, did also say he was talking to as many as four other Premier League clubs. The agent would only name Tottenham and Chelsea as possible destinations, although Manchester City and Liverpool have also been credited with an interest.

Hulk's release clause stands at a whopping £85 million and the Blues have apparently been at work chipping away at the price tag, having been rumoured to be speaking to the Portuguese club since June last year.

"I've said it before, we would not sell Hulk and therefore Chelsea must activate his contract," da Costa said in an earlier Daily Mail report. However, it now appears he has admitted he will accept a 50 percent cut in that figure.

Meanwhile, a slightly older report in the Telegraph suggests that as part of his plans to revamp the side, Abramovich is also targeting another Porto striker, albeit one who left last summer to join Spanish La Liga side Atletico Madrid - the Colombian Radamel Falcao - who struck up a formidable partnership with Hulk during their time at Porto, helping Villas-Boas (who was then managing Porto) to the Portuguese league, the domestic cup and the Europa League titles.

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