Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is lining up a January bid for Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz, and is prepared to offer Demba Ba as part-exchange, according to the
Express. Reports in Turkey suggest Mourinho will finally make his move having seen the 28-year-old almost join Lazio over the summer, while Arsenal and Liverpool were also interested. Eurosport Turkey claim the "Special One" is a big fan of Yilmaz, and is even prepared to sacrifice Ba to get his man. Mourinho was dissuaded from bidding for the Turkey international in the last window due to the striker's £20 million valuation, which could drop if Ba is thrown into the equation. Ba only moved to Stamford Bridge from Newcastle in January this year but has failed to establish himself in west London, making just two Premier League appearances this season and scoring the same number of goals in his debut campaign. By contrast, Yilmaz scored 32 times in 39 games for Gala last season, including eight in nine European appearances. As manager of Real Madrid, Mourinho praised the forward ahead of his then-side's clash against Galatasaray in the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season, saying:
"Drogba, Sneijder and Burak could play for any team in the world."
Meanwhile, Ba has continued to fall down the pecking order at Chelsea and was even linked with loan moves to Arsenal, West Ham and Newcastle as the summer transfer window drew to a close. It is believed the player would be open to a move to Turkey in January.