Chelsea heating up race to sign Benfica talisman

Reports are suggesting that Chelsea are monitoring the situation of Benfica anchorman, Javi Garcia, as they look to bolster their midfield ahead of the 2012-13 campaign.

The Blues are soon to see an array of players head for the Stamford Bridge exit at the end of the current season with Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou’s deals both set to expire in July.

Jose Bosingwa, Didier Drogba and John Obi Mikel are three other names being linked with a move away from the West London outfit and if they do as protracted, reinforcements will certainly be necessary.

Garcia has impressed greatly for Benfica over the past year, earning the attention of numerous European outfits including Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus.

The Spaniard made his way through the Real Madrid youth system, joining the club’s prestigious academy at just nine-years old.

Garcia failed to make an impact for the La Liga giants however and after making just four appearances for Los Blancos, completed a move to Osasuna in 2007.

The 25 year-old appears to have bloomed late but is now hitting the heights that many expected of him at an early age and in just three seasons at the Estadio da Luz, has racked up an impressive 111 appearances for Benfica.

Garcia is yet to make his debut for the Spanish senior national side but many are calling for the defensive midfielder to be called upon for the Euro 2012 tournament.

Chelsea already have a Spanish holding midfielder amongst their ranks in the form of Oriol Romeu but with Frank Lampard’s future at the club already in question, further cover may be required.

The complicated part of the deal is that Garcia not too long ago penned a deal with Benfica that will keep him at the club until 2018 and as such makes his total price difficult to calculate.

The midfielder is reported to have a release clause of around £25m but with the financial backing of Roman Abramovich, it doesn’t make the transfer an impossibility.

Tom is one of our most experienced contributors, with over a decade of online publishing. A Man Utd fan, Thomas brings you all the latest news from UK football.

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