Silly Season never sleeps: Nicolas Otamendi pops up on the radar

This one may be extra silly, since a) he's not an attacking midfielder (and it's a known fact of the universe that we only buy attacking midfielders) and b) he has not been capped by Argentina for over two years now (so his prospects of getting a work permit may be murky, at best), but according to Marca, Chelsea are looking at bringing in Nicolás Otamendi from the football talent factory that is the Portuguese league and FC Porto.  And by bringing in I mean paying an outrageous sum of money after many rounds of annoying negotiations with Porto chairman Jorge Pinto da Costa.

Otamendi however may just be worth it.  The 25-year-old may not be the biggest defender you've ever seen, but he's reasonably quick, decent in the air, strong in the tackle, and has a good understanding of the game.  He's been on the radar of several of Europe's giants over the years and just last summer was heavily linked with PSG, Barcelona, and AC Milan.

Porto signed him for a grand total of €8m back in 2011 although I'm sure the buyout on his current contract that runs out in 2015 is several times that amount.  But that's the price of doing business in a position that probably could use a bit of reinforcement.  Beyond David Luiz, we still only have John Terry (who's not getting any younger), Gary Cahill (decent backup), and Branislav Ivanovic (preferred at right back), with youngsters Kalas (20), Omeruo (19), Ake (18), and Christensen (17) completing the lower reaches of the depth chart.

Otamendi has been ever present in the Porto lineup this season, partnering another rumored Chelsea target Eliaquim Mangala in the heart of the Portuguese champion's defense both in the league and in Europe.