Andriy Yarmolenko
Andriy Yarmolenko Reuters

Chelsea have been credited with a £12m interest in Liverpool target Andriy Yarmolenko, according to the Daily Mail.

The report claims the winger was subjected to interest from the Merseyside club as Brendan Rodgers was keen on adding him to the Reds' squad. In addition to this, Liverpool's league rivals Arsenal were also believed to be in the race for Yarmolenko's signature.

It is claimed that the 24-year-old winger's trasfer to Liverpool or Arsenal did not happen for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the said clubs were unsure of the consistency in his performances and secondly, the player was reluctant to move away from Kiev.

However, when it comes to Chelsea, it is reported that Roman Abramovich's connections will help convince the winger to make his transition from Kiev to London a smooth one.

Although Kiev were asking £20m for their prized possession last summer, they are likely to agree a for a smaller amount this time.

Yarmolenko's national team mate Yevhen Konoplyanka has also been linked with a move to Liverpool and Manchester United during the summer transfer window.

Chelsea completed their first signing of the summer on Thursday with Cesc Fabregas and are rumoured to be in line to complete the transfer of his compatriot Diego Costa in the coming days in a bid to add more depth to their attack.

Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Gary Cahill, who will start his World Cup campaign with England taking on Italy in Group D's opening fixture, has been talking about weather conditions in Brazil and how the Three Lions have prepared to deal with the unfavourable conditions.

"It's hard for English players, we're not used to this climate, but we've done the heat chambers, we've done the extra layers of clothing, so we've done all we possibly can going into the game," Cahill told Chelsea's official site.

"After the Honduras match (in Miami), I felt good. I felt good in the game. It was pleasing to know mentally that you can deal with those conditions and that's roughly what we're going to be facing in the first game.

"I've been told by a couple of team-mates what it's like, I'm intrigued by it. They said it will be very humid but we knew that before we'd gone so that's why we've done all the training," the England defender added.