Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is planning to bolster his defence by signing Porto’s Rolando and Ajax’s Gregory van der Wiel before the transfer window shuts.
Villas-Boas has earmarked his side’s backline as an area that needs strengthening and he is prepared to shell out a combined £28m to clinch the double deal.
The Portuguese tactician had been hoping that central defender Serbian international Slobodan Rajkovic, who was signed back in 2007, would finally secure a work permit having spent the last three seasons on loan in the Dutch Eredivisie.
However, they are now poised to cut their losses after a setback in the 22-year-old’s application and Hamburg will now pay a £2million fee to take him off Chelsea’s hands.
Villas-Boas will now venture into transfer market by raiding former club Porto for highly-rated Portugal centre-back Rolando.
The 25-year-old stopper was an integral member of the side that won the League title and Europa League under Villas-Boas last season.
Rolando’s contract at Estadio do Dragao runs until 2015 and Chelsea will need to fork out £18m to secure his signature.
Chelsea will also move for Ajax youngster Van der Wiel, who is viewed by the Blues boss as a youthful replacement for the likes of Paulo Ferreira and Jose Bosingwa at right-back.
Van der Wiel, who featured in the 2010 World Cup final, has two years remaining on his club contract and has also attracted the interest of Manchester City and Bayern Munich.
Villas-Boas is looking to steal a march on his rivals by hastily securing a £10m deal for a player who is widely-regarded as the best young full-back in Europe.
The former Porto chief is looking to overhaul Chelsea’s ageing squad over a period of two seasons and has already signed 19-year-old midfielder Oriol Romeu from Barcelona and 18-year striker Romelu Lukaku from Anderlecht this summer.
Valencia’s 23-year-old playmaker Juan Mata is expected to finalise his £26m move to Stamford Bridge within the next 24 hours.
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