Chelsea have been provided an unlikely boost as erstwhile target Hulk has reportedly made himself available for transfer. According to the Metro, the Brazilian has grown disillusioned with life in Russia as certain fan groups have expressed displeasure over the acquisition of black players.

The newspaper has claimed that the striker’s availability for sale was notified to the Blues last week in the run up  to Russia’s friendly against World Cup 2014 hosts Brazil.

Brazilian powerhouse Hulk was perhaps one of the most wanted stars last year. The forward who was being eyed by a host of clubs across Europe chose to leave Porto last year, but opted to join Russian giants Zenit instead.

If rumours are to be believed though, then even before completing an year with the club, the player is apparently disillusioned  and wants to move to pastures anew at the end of the season. When asked about his intentions, the 26-year old by Metro as saying, “My future? I love the Premier League. The Premier League is a great competition with great clubs. If I have time, I watch the matches on television.”

According to reports in the Metro, Zenit St Petersburg striker Hulk could be on his way out of the Russian club after his touchline spat with coach Luciano Spalleti. Having just arrived from Porto for a whopping transfer fee believed to be in the region of £40 million in August, the striker was quoted as saying to reporters, "If the situation with Spalletti is not solved, in January I will leave.’’

The situation is not all that simple for the Brazilian though as FIFA regulations do not allow a player to represent more than 2 clubs in a season, which means he could be tied down at his current club despite the recent row. The touchline spat happened in Zenit’s 1-0 win over AC Milan last night where heated exchanges were reported between the player and the manager.

Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg have made sufficient arrangements to maintain their league dominance as they announced the capture of Porto forward Hulk and Benfica midfielder Axel Witsel late last evening. The duo have not come in cheap as Zenit spent over €80 million on the transfers, according to media reports.

The Russian club announced on their website, "Brazilian national team forward Givanildo Vieira de Souza, nicknamed Hulk, will be continuing his career in St. Petersburg. Zenit signed Hulk to a 5 year contract."

FC Porto have reportedly turned down a £39.6 million (€50 million) bid from Russian moneybags Zenit Saint Petersburg for star striker Hulk, with their president insistent that the 26-year old is going nowhere.

Hulk stated earlier this month that he wanted to make a move away from the Portuguese club, and was interested in a switch to either the Premier League or La Liga. However, reigning Russian champions Zenit have been looking to make a couple of marquee signings over the summer transfer window, and have made Hulk a principle target in their hopes of mounting a more serious challenge in the Champions League in the coming season.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is on the rare losing side of a bidding war, having reportedly given up his pursuit of Brazilian striker Hulk with the player now set to ironically head to Russia to sign with Zenit St Petersburg for a reported fee of €50 million.

Despite having already spent in excess of £80 million this summer to rebuild their squad, Chelsea opted against joining the battle for Hulk after their overtures of £32 million were deemed insufficient by Portuguese giants FC Porto.

Champions League winners Chelsea are looking to boost their options upfront before the transfer market closes on August 31^st. The Blues have been chasing Edinson Cavani from Napoli and Hulk from FC Porto for a really long time and they are set to make final approaches this week in order to get atleast one of the two players on board.

Cavani is the London club’s first choice and Napoli are said to be demanding a price of £35 million for the striker. The Uruguayan scored 33 goals in all competitions for the Serie A side last term and is considered hot property across Europe. Di Matteo has remained coy at the possibility of a new signing saying, â€œI don’t know if there will be new arrivals. We’re probably a bit light in attacking positions.”