Chelsea have made a last-minute swoop for Louis Saha. Chelsea made their shock move that could either end with the Frenchman making the short trip to Stamford Bridge, or have the effect of driving the transfer price even higher for Manchester United.
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| Fulham striker Louis Saha |
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The Fulham striker was reported to be on the verge of a £9.8million move to Manchester United after the two clubs had apparently agreed a fee following weeks of acrimony.
United identified Saha as their No1 target during the January transfer window, but have balked at Fulham's original asking price of £12m.
Saha has scored 13 Premiership goals this season, but has been unsettled since United's interest was made public.
Fulham manager Chris Coleman would prefer to keep his star striker but it is unlikely that his club can resist for much longer.
The consolation for Coleman would be that he would be given at least a proportion of the fee for Saha with which to strengthen his squad before the end of this month.
If Chelsea pull off the coup, it would take their spending on just four forwards since the summer to around £60m.
It would also be a blow to United not just because Saha was their main transfer-window target, but following the defection of their former chief executive Peter Kenyon to Chelsea, it would prove again the Blues' purchasing power under Roman Abramovich.