Chelsea are confident of completing the £25m signing of Oscar, the precociously gifted Brazil and Sport Club Internacional midfielder, as they continue their summer of bold transfer moves.
Internacional have lined up a deal for Paulo Henrique Ganso of Santos to replace Oscar, and, although they maintain that nothing has been signed with Chelsea, a deal to take the London club's outlay on new players past £60m is close.
Tottenham Hotspur had an interest in Oscar but walked away from negotiations at the weekend, perhaps when it appeared that Chelsea were ready to gazump them.
Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, has already funded the £32m signing of Eden Hazard from Lille and the £7m capture of Marko Marin from Werder Bremen; two young and sought-after attacking midfielders, and Oscar ticks similar boxes.
The 20-year-old is a right-footed playmaker who can operate in any of the advanced midfield positions in the 4-2-3-1 formation that is favoured by the Chelsea manager, Roberto Di Matteo. He is noted for his speed and technical ability and he has made his mark at full international level, starring in the Brazil squad that recently played friendlies against Denmark, Mexico, Argentina and United States. He has played 70 times for Internacional, scoring 19 goals. Oscar has been included in the squad for the London Olympics.
The Chelsea squad already has a Brazilian flavour, in the form of Ramires, David Luiz and Lucas Piazon, and Abramovich could add to it further with his pursuit of Hulk, the Porto striker. A £38m fee has been agreed in principle between the clubs but there are complications related to Hulk's third party ownership, and over who will pay the monies owing to his investors.