Chelsea target Radamel Falcao interested in Premier League switch

Chelsea target Radamel Falcao has hinted he is ready to quit Porto for a move to the Barclays Premier League.

The Blues have been heavily linked with the striker, whose record-breaking scoring spree last year helped the Portuguese club complete a remarkable treble under now Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Villas-Boas, 33, will assess the Chelsea squad he has inherited from Carlo Ancelotti over the next few days after commencing pre-season training at the club's base in Cobham this morning.

Should he wish to add a striker to his ranks, it appears that Falcao, who scored 33 goals in total last year, is ready to join him.

The Colombian hitman has also been linked with Real Madrid, but admits he wants a "dream" move to England.

"There is a club that I dream to play for. They are foreign but I do not want to say who it is now," Falcao said.

"The Spanish league is good, but I prefer the Premier League as there is a better atmosphere on the field."

Chelsea would have to pay in the region of £27million to reach the release clause in the striker's contract.

Falcao thinks his exploits with Porto last year, when he broke Jurgen Klinsmann's 15-year-old goalscoring record in the Europa League, mean he is ready for the challenge of playing in a bigger league.

"I have matured in every respect and I am qualified to play in a big league," Falcao said.

"I never thought I would score so many goals. It has been a surprise for me and I have benefited from the quality that we have in our team."

Porto are keen to ensure Villas-Boas does not raid his former club in the same way Jose Mourinho did when he moved to Stamford Bridge from Portugal's second city in 2004, taking Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho with him.

While Tottenham's Luka Modric remains the Blues' number one target in midfield, Porto's Joao Moutinho has also been linked with a move to London.

The 24-year-old admits he is flattered to have been linked with Chelsea, but insists he is not planning on being reunited with Villas-Boas this summer.

"It is good to see my name associated with a great club, but it is also true I am already at a great club, FC Porto, where I will to continue to work," Moutinho said in O Jogo.

Falcao's bustling strike partner Hulk, who scored 23 league goals last season, has also been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.

When asked how he would feel if Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich met the staggering 100million euro release fee in his new contract, the Brazilian said: "If it was good for the club and me...

"But, as I have said before, I am totally focused on FC Porto, the club with which I have a contract for five years."