Bosingwa is a very pacy right-back who likes to get forward and overlap and has gained many plaudits during recent campaigns in the Champions League.

Reported fees range from £12 – 15 million.  The fee, apparently, was a sticky point as Chelsea wanted to pay £12 million whilst the Portuguese club were holding out for 15 – I imagine the fee is 12 going up to 15 on a performance related basis.

Porto had been holding out for more because 20 per cent of the transfer fee had to be paid to Rui Neno, an agent who owns a share of the player and Chelsea were required to take full control of the player’s economic rights to be in line with Premier League rules against third-party ownership. (How on earth Manchester United and Liverpool got away with it re Tevez and Mascherano is beyond me).

Bosingwa has broken into the Portugal side in recent seasons and is expected to be first choice over fellow countryman, Paulo Ferreira.

Bosingwa was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo but has been nationalised as Portuguese. He has recently broken into the national side and competes for a place with Miguel and Ferreira and he is expected to be named in their Euro 2008 squad this week.  

"I played for a big team in Porto and now I'm going to a bigger team. My aim is to win titles.”  

"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."  

Bosingwa formerly played for Boavista before Jose Mourinho brought him to Porto and since the departure of Ferreira to Chelsea he had been had been first-choice right-back. 

Portuguese journalist Alberto da Silva reckons we paid the normal “Chelsea Tax” and wasn’t so enthused about the deal: 

"He's a good player but he's not worth that much money.” 

"I think Chelsea's current right-back Paulo Ferreira is a better player. I don't know who negotiated the deal, but he did well for Porto."  

Still, the proof of the pudding and all that… 

The implications of the Bosingwa signing are various: 

(1)   Since Ferreira signed a new deal recently, we can suppose Belletti will be sold on in the summer.

(2)   Daniel Alves must almost certainly be Barcelona bound now – doesn’t look as if we are going to get him – UNLESS Ferreira is to be sold on as well as Belletti.

(3)   Grant, whether as Director of Football or Manager next season, has taken a further step in trying to evolve the transition to a more attacking style of football that Abramovich craves.

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