Porto turn down €50m bid for Chelsea transfer target

Porto have turned down a €50m bid from Zenit St Petersburg for Chelsea target Hulk.

The striker, who revealed earlier this month that he is looking to leave the Portuguese champions, has been linked with a move to Chelsea since last summer when former Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas took over at Stamford Bridge.

Despite Villas-Boas’ dismissal earlier this year, Hulk remains on Chelsea’s radar, with owner Roman Abramovich reportedly keen to bring in another high-profile forward after the departure of Didier Drogba in July.

However, the Blues will have to fork out more than €50m - around £40m on the current exchange rate - for the Brazil international after Porto president Pinto da Costa revealed he had dismissed an offer from Russian champions Zenit.

"They offered €50 million and I refused," the Porto president is quoted as saying in Portuguese newspaper Record.

"For that I can guarantee that neither Zenit nor any club will be successful [in their attempts to sign Hulk]."