Valencia striker David Villa is a man in much demand this summer and he is attracting the interest of the top clubs in the world of football. The Spaniard has a phenomenal scoring rate for Valencia since arriving there in 2005, netting 101 goals in 167 games. Last season he scored 31 goals in 40 games and has now taken his tally for Spain to 29 goals in 45 games. Looking at these figures you can now see (if you didn't already) why Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Man Utd are being reported as interested in his services (and of course Man City, but it's impossible to find a player that isn't rumoured to be on Man City's radar these days!).
These kind of goal scoring ratios are impressive at any level, and especially impressive in La Liga, so the battle to entice him away from Valencia is intensifying. Many Villa fans believe he is more valuable than both of Madrid's recent big money purchases, but due to him being so much more modest than Ronaldo and not having had Man City blow his asking price into orbit like Kaka, he could be signed on what is comparatively a bargain.
Real Madrid
Apparently Madrid were nearing the end of talks to make Villa a part of their new Galactico generation, joining Kaka and Ronaldo in a huge splash out on attacking talent, but it has now hit a bit of a wall as arguments begin over his value. Originally Madrid offered a deal worth €30m but Valencia held out for more, wanting €35m. After further talks they agreed to reach the €35m deal, only for Villa's agent to stick his oar in and say the figure should be €40m!
Valencia are eager to hold out for the highest figure possible to help ease the debts burden they have hanging over them.
So in steps...
Barcelona
With Villa (and his family) preferring to stay in Spain, the La Liga and Champions League winners would be an ideal alternative to the Bernabeu. The rumours on Barca's willingness to trump Madrid's figure vary wildly, from some papers claiming they will be happy to splash the required cash and then some websites saying they are already outpriced.
Chelsea
Rumour has it that the Blues are now putting forward a bid that the competition won't be able to match. Chelsea are proven in the transfer market as not shy to spend what it takes to get great players to their club, spending in the region of £250m in the first 2 seasons of Abramovich's reign.
With Jose Mourinho in the manager role at the time, Chelsea experienced great success, winning the Premier League title 2 years running but never achieving their ultimate goal of winning the Champions League. They are now even more determined than ever to reach that target, bringing in Carlo Ancelotti for his proven track record in the competition. So their ambitions to secure Villa's signature will be more than just a vague hope.
Villa could give Chelsea a stability up front that they have lacked a little with Drogba and Anelka. Didier Drogba has been very hot and cold of late, sometimes seeming off the boil and then out of nowhere comes out with a flash of brilliance. Anelka hasn't struck up a great partnership with the Chelsea man and there are rumours of exits.
Manchester
There are also rumours that City and United are both interested, but neither seem to be front runners in this race though. However, with United's prestige and City's bottomless pit of cash, neither can be ruled out of the running until it is all over.