Chelsea are expected to tie up the signature of Holland starlet Arjen Robben before the end of the week.
The Blues revealed last night that the 20-year-old PSV Eindhoven forward was undergoing a medical at Stamford Bridge.
The arrival of Robben would be a coup for Chelsea following months of reports linking the youngster with their Premiership rivals Manchester United among other high-profile clubs.
In January, Robben was given a tour of Old Trafford as Man U boss Sir Alex Ferguson plotted a summer swoop.
However, PSV chairman Harry van Raaij hit out at that tactic and later accused the Premiership champions of halving an original £10m offer.
Van Raaij said: "Because United were first in the queue, we kept Chelsea waiting. But when we had our second discussion with United over a fee, we were very disappointed over how low they believed they could push us.
"They seemed to think he was worth a lot less than Chelsea were willing to pay.
"That was a massive letdown and it was only then we opened negotiations with Chelsea.
"There's a very good chance we will finalise the transfer this week."
The player, who joined PSV from Groningen in 2002, is expected to sign a five-year contract with Chelsea at a cost of 20m euros (£13.5m).
Meanwhile, Joe Cole's agent has denied reports the Chelsea midfielder has threatened to hand in a transfer request in protest at his lack of first-team opportunities.
It is difficult not to feel a little despondent about Sunderland at the moment because no matter what sort of spin you try to put on it, three back to back defeats is difficult to accept....
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