Chelsea on brink of ten Cate deal

CHELSEA are on the brink of reaching an agreement with Henk ten Cate to join their coaching staff.

Ten Cate quit his post at Ajax earlier this week after Chelsea agreed a compensation figure with the Dutch club for his services.

Chelsea now expect to finalise the deal within the next 24 hours in order for Ten Cate to take up his role under head coach Avram Grant and alongside assistant Steve Clarke.

A statement on Chelsea’s official website read: “Chelsea has reached agreement with Ajax for the release of Henk ten Cate.

“We expect to finalise his contract with Chelsea in the next 24 hours as assistant first-team coach.”

Meanwhile Chelsea’s injured midfielder Michael Ballack, has given coach Grant a major boost by confirming he has no intention of quitting the club.

The former Bayern Munich midfielder, struggling to regain full fitness following two ankle operations, wants to remain at the Premier League club for the rest of his career.

The Germany international struggled to make an impact under former coach Jose Mourinho and was linked with a summer switch to Real Madrid.

Ballack has two years remaining on his current contract and even though Grant has replaced Mourinho and Ten Cate is set to arrive imminently, the German wants to remain part of the new set-up.

Ballack, 31, told German TV station ARD: “I feel very happy here and would like to end my career at Chelsea. Although I want to end my career at Chelsea, if I am still fit when my contract runs out, why should I not play on for another two years?”

Ballack’s desire to stay at Stamford Bridge is matched by Ivorian striker Didier Drogba who felt Mourinho’s departure more than most.

Drogba was very close to the Portuguese coach who left the club by mutual consent last month.

Even though he has been linked with a move to Milan, Drogba was quick to dispel the rumours.

Drogba said: “Chelsea is my destiny today. I do not want the adventure to change. Milan? What a good club. But I have spoken to nobody.”

Meanwhile Czech international Petr Cech admits it has been ‘extremely difficult’ to overcome the upheaval at the club in the wake of Mourinho’s exit.

But Cech believes the club have now turned the corner after beating Valencia in the Champions League and then recording their first league win under Grant with a 1-0 success at Bolton. He said: “It was extremely difficult to put up with everything that happened. But now it seems that everything is moving towards a better period.”