In a bid to cut their running costs, Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala have put their entire squad up for sale, with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho reportedly showing interest already in signing Samuel Eto’o and Brazilian attacking midfielder Willian.
Earlier today Anzhi released a statement saying they wouldd be changing the way they were doing business as they looked to cut their budget by almost £50m a year.
And according to reports in Spain, that has alerted Chelsea to the availability of Samuel Eto’o and Willian.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Jose Mourinho will move for Eto’o after managing the player during his time at Inter Milan.
Chelsea were also hotly linked with Willian when he made the move from Shaktar Donetsk to Anzhi in January for £30m, and it looks like they may revisit their interest in the player with the Russian club looking to sell.
A statement on Anzhi’s website suggests that the cut-backs are part of an attempt to comply with UEFA’s financial fair play rule, with the club putting increasingly greater focus on home-grown players at the same time as looking to offload “big signings” who have not brought the Anzhi the success the club craved.
Anzhi’s president Konstantin Remchukov said on Twitter: “The main news is that Anzhi will undergo a reformatting.
“Many of our expensive stars will leave Anzhi, while the club’s budget will be decreased to $50-$70 million (£32.5-£45.5m) a year.
“We failed to clinch rapid success. Now Anzhi will develop its academy according to the medium-term plans of club development.”
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