The European champions have been linked with 24-year old Brazilian midfielder Paulinho in recent weeks following a string of eye-catching performances by the schemer for his current club, Corinthians in Brazil. He also featured briefly for his national team in their recent 2-1 loss in the friendly match against England, at Wembley Stadium.

Paulinho has also attracted the attention of Italian outfit Inter Milan, who have revealed their interest in signing him in the summer. Thus Chelsea look set for a tussle with Inter for the in-demand midfielder who will surely not come cheap.

Chelsea have already spent heavily in the last few years as they have signed a number of big name players, most notably Fernando Torres, Eden Hazard, David Luiz and Juan Mata. Bankrolled by the billionaire oil tycoon Roman Abramovich, they look set for yet another summer of heavy spending as they have already been linked with Spanish side Athletico Madrid’s star striker, Radamel Falcao.  Athletico are currently second in the La Liga table, riding on the goals scored by their Colombian hitman, as he enjoys yet another stellar season in front of goal.

Chelsea’s owner, Abramovich is clearly most interested in Falcao, who he saw first-hand last year as the striker ran circles around the Chelsea defense in the UEFA Super Cup, scoring a brace in the 4-1 thrashing of the Blues. Since then, the rumors linking Falcao with Chelsea have simply refused to die down. The London club is very much aware of the fact that they will have to spend an insane amount of money to land Falcao.

Chelsea are desperate to sign a big name striker, given the poor form of their most expensive player in the club’s history, Spanish striker Fernando Torres, and they do not seem content just with the addition of January signing Demba Ba. Therefore, Chelsea believe that Falcao is the answer to all their problems as they look to lay the foundations for next season.

With Falcao looking very likely to arrive at Stamford Bridge in the summer, they have now turned their attentions to Paulinho. Chelsea are always looking for a one box-to-box midfielder with the necessary steel to switch play from defense to offence whenever needed. With what they have seen lately of Paulinho, they are convinced that he can do that job, and add to the options in Chelsea’s midfield.

Paulinho too has refused to rule out a move in the summer, as he simply played down the question when he was asked about his future. He said, “I do not know what will happen in June. Nor can I say with certainty that I will stay or go away, we will see.

“For the time being I am fully concentrated on Corinthians – what happens in the market, in summer or winter, we will see.”

With Paulinho refusing to give anything away, the move to Stamford Bridge is still on the cards. Do you fancy seeing the Brazilian international in the Chelsea squad?