Chelsea enter race for Lewandowski with £25m Dortmund star’s Bayern move looking increasingly unlikely
Chelsea have turned their attention to Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski as Jose Mourinho looks for a man to lead the line.
Mourinho is unconvinced by Fernando Torres and Demba Ba and wants another front man to compete with youngster Romelu Lukaku and new £18million signing Andre Schurrle - who will mainly be used out wide.
Lewandowski is looking to engineer a move away from the Champions League finalists but Dortmund are determined not to sell to Bayern Munich, who remain the Pole’s preferred choice.
PL bound? Lewandowski is expected to be on the move this summer after some fine seasons in Germany
Unconvinced: Mourinho's does not see enough in his strikers to shoot them to the top
The 24-year-old’s representatives have contacted Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona as well as Bayern over a potential £25m move.
Dortmund would be loath to sell to Bayern after the German champions activated wonderkid Mario Gotze’s £32m release clause last month.
Last week the club’s chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke told Bild: ‘Robert Lewandowski will definitely not make the switch to FC Bayern in 2013. That’s final. We have informed Robert and his agents now.’
Striking options: Lewandowski could be seen as a cheaper option to Cavani (left) while Schurrle may play wide
That could open the door for Chelsea, who are making slow progress with their attempts to drive down the £54m asking price for Napoli striker Edinson Cavani.
Cavani is a long-term target of Chelsea’s, but Mourinho is a big fan of Lewandowski’s having watched him score four against his Real side in the Champions League semi-final.
Chelsea also remain keen on Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk, but Manchester United do not want to allow sell unsettled Wayne Rooney to Stamford Bridge.
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