Chelsea set to sign Ramires

(GSM) – Benfica midfielder Ramires is set to join Chelsea next week in a deal worth £20 million, according to ESPN.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has been impressed with the 23-year-old’s performances for Benfica and Brazil after Ramires played.

Having lost midfielders Joe Cole and Michael Ballack to Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen respectively and with Deco expected to go back to his native Brazil, Ancelotti has been keen to bring in a new midfielder.

Manchester City tried to hijack Chelsea’s bid for the player, but a source close to ESPN said: “He has opted to go to Chelsea, and the deal can be done in the next couple of days, certainly by next week.”

Ramires said recently: “My agent has told me that a number of clubs are interested in signing me, but this didn’t surprise me. We all know that the World Cup is the perfect stage to prove your worth.

“One good game could be enough to attract the interest of a big club. I don’t know the names of the clubs that are after me, but it would be a dream for me to play for a big club such as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Chelsea.”

Ramires will be the Blues’ second signing of the summer after Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun joined the Stamford Bridge club earlier in the summer.