Report: Chelsea have had meetings with Eto'o, and he could be available on a free transfer

There is some interesting stuff out there this morning involving Chelsea and their interest in Samuel Eto'o, fueled mostly by an article in Panorama in which they claim Chelsea has made contact. The Italian publication claims to have talked to Claudio Vigorelli (the agent for Eto'o), and the agent has confirmed he's had a meeting with the Blues.

The Italian agent confirms that the interview a few days ago with the Blues resulted in major steps forward in the negotiations.

The article goes on to talk about the potential transfer fee involved, which presumably also came from the same source as the rest of this information:

The cost of the card would be equal to zero, because the same Eto'o has spoken directly with Kerimov , president dell'Anzhi, and found the deal: can leave freely once you find the destination appreciated. Maybe we will discuss a severance package, but it's still early.

The severance package bit is interesting, as The Guardian are suggesting that all of his wages have already been paid by the club. I'm sure Anzhi would be looking for some sort of significant compensation if that is true, as letting Eto'o leave while still keeping his paycheck doesn't really do anything to reduce their wage bill going forward. In all likelihood, any move for the player is going to involve a good amount of money being given back to the club, and that likely means his wage demands from a new club won't be low.

I'm sort of intrigued by the idea of Eto'o on a short term contract, especially if Panorama has good information about the cost involved. I think he'll still demand a relatively ridiculous wage, but as long as he's willing to take a short term deal, he might actually make sense for the club. I'm not entirely certain I buy into Chelsea's interest being legitimate, but as long as it's a short term deal with basically no transfer fee, I'm not all that upset by it (especially if he demands the number 9 jersey).

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