Chelsea have beaten Manchester United to the signing of Porto right-back Jose Bosingwa, for a fee of £16.1million.
The Blues confirmed the player has agreed a three-year contract with the
Stamford Bridge club and will join after this summer's European Championships.
It represents a welcome success for Chelsea the day after United pipped them
to the Premier League title.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side have long been in the hunt for a right-back and
assistant coach Carlos Queiroz confirmed their interest in Bosingwa earlier in
the season.
United saw him as a successor to Gary Neville but Chelsea have moved swiftly
to snap up the attack-minded 25-year-old.
Bosingwa told
Chelsea TV: 'I have friends who are at Chelsea and it's
a club I feel I can improve at and grow as a player.
'I've always had a dream to play in England - I always watched the Premier
League as a child, I love the English game and now I'm here I'm going to work to
do my best.
'I played for a big team in Porto and now I'm going to play for a bigger team
in Chelsea. My aim is to win titles.'
The Portugal international's arrival will place more speculation around the
future of Juliano Belletti. The Brazilian has been sidelined in recent weeks,
with Michael Essien playing at right-back.
Chelsea's other right-back, Portugal's Paulo Ferreira, signed a five-year deal
earlier this season and is unlikely to move on.
Bosingwa is set to play for his country in the European Championships next
month, but was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He moved to Seia in central Portugal when he was young and began his career
mainly playing in midfield for Boavista, for whom he made more than 40
appearances.
Bosingwa moved to Porto in 2003, where he played under former Chelsea boss
Jose Mourinho and has been their first-choice right-back for the last three
seasons.
Three years ago, Bosingwa was involved in a serious car accident when his jeep
skidded off the motorway and rolled down an embankment before bursting into
flames.
He was with four other players at the time, but all escaped alive.
However, Sandro Luis had to have his left foot amputated as a result of the
accident.
Meanwhile, Mikel John Obi insists the Blues can conjure up another slice of
cup glory after failing to pip United for the Premier League title.
The Blues' 1-1 draw with Bolton and United's victory over Wigan yesterday
meant Sir Alex Ferguson's men retained their crown.
It was Ferguson's 10th Premier League title but Mikel insists Chelsea's eyes
now firmly focused on beating United in the final of the Champions League in
Moscow a week on Wednesday.
Last season, the Blues lost their league title to United but went on to beat
them 1-0 in the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley.
Mikel insists his side have set their sights on repeating the feat in Moscow
with the Champions League trophy as the prize this time.
'There is a sense of frustration but determination among everyone,' said
Mikel.
'At the end of the day, we wouldn't have won the title anyway. We wanted to
win and we knew that three points was our only chance of beating Manchester
United, but it wasn't to be.
'We were saying to each other afterwards that we would put things right in
Moscow. We will keep working hard until the final and make sure we win the
Champions League.
'Last year, they won the league and we beat them in the FA Cup final. They
have won the league again but we know that we're good enough to beat them.
'They're a very good side, we all know that, but we have to focus on the day.
I think we're going to win it.'
Mikel is also praying captain John Terry recovers from the dislocated elbow he
suffered against Bolton in time to play.
Terry underwent another scan on his damaged arm today and, with a period of
rest, he is hoping to be fit enough to start.
'John is a very important player for the team,' added Mikel.
'We all pray and hope he will be fit for the final. When you look at Chelsea,
we are all big players, but when people want us to stand up for ourselves, we
always do that.
'I'm a young player, I respect the big players for what they've done. When
we've needed them to do something, they have done.
'It has been a very good season, but it can only end on a high if we win the
Champions League, and we believe we can.'
