One down, two to go as Ballack joins Chelsea

CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho will complete the first part of his three-stage summer plan by signing midfielder Michael Ballack today.

The Germany captain is out of contract at Bayern Munich and has been in discussions with the Premiership champions for several weeks and has reportedly been offered £130,000 a week.

Mourinho has stated he wants to make three signings this summer – with a trio of his current squad making way for them – and the 29-year-old is the first of those.

Ballack, who is set to be unveiled at a Stanford Bridge press conference today, said: “The time has come for me to make this move. When I came to Bayern (in 2002), general manager Uli Hoeness told me ‘When you’re 29, you can still move abroad’.

“I turned down an offer from Real Madrid at the time, which was very attractive.”

Mourinho told Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport: “Either you find young players with great potential or you point towards world-class players like Ballack. Ballack should sign.”

Mourinho is also aiming to sign a left-back and a striker, with AC Milan’s Andriy Shevchenko, Inter Milan’s Adriano and Corinthians star Carlos Tevez having all been heavily linked with moves to Stamford Bridge.

The name of Ukrainian Shevchenko has continually been mentioned in association with Chelsea ever since the acquisition of the club by Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

A move to Stamford Bridge appeared likely after the striker announced he wanted to leave Milan.

Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o has also been linked to Chelsea and Mourinho accepted it was understandable the likes of Shevchenko and Samuel Eto’o were being linked to his side.

“We are looking for a forward and it’s normal that Shevchenko and Eto’o’s names are mentioned. We will see what happens,” he added.

Shevchenko, who turns 30 in September, is tied to Milan until June 2009 and will captain Ukraine at the World Cup this summer in Germany.