Chelsea agree on £13.2m for Ferreira
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Your support makes all the difference.As Chelsea agreed a fee of £13.2m for the Porto full-back Paulo Ferreira yesterday, they also moved ahead of Manchester United in the £50m race to make Wayne Rooney the world's most expensive player.
As Chelsea agreed a fee of £13.2m for the Porto full-back Paulo Ferreira yesterday, they also moved ahead of Manchester United in the £50m race to make Wayne Rooney the world's most expensive player.
The club's owner Roman Abramovich is ready to meet Everton's price for the 18-year-old and would pay the fee up front - and without instalments or makeweights in the deal.
The club's new manager Jose Mourinho was impressed by Rooney's display against Croatia, and his interest means that the player-swap deal Sir Alex Ferguson was envisaging will not be enough.
Nicky Butt and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were the two who may be used in a swap deal, but Chelsea's cash would appeal more to Everton, who could use it to write off debts and rebuild.
Everton may have under-valued Rooney in the past few days with the club's chairman Bill Kenwright and then Moyes mentioning £50m - a significant shift by Moyes after claiming he was not for sale.
Rooney has known about United's interest since before the end of the season. United's England players in Portugal have also been encouraging him to go to Old Trafford.
The lure of staying near Liverpool is a factor, but with Chelsea also after Rooney's England team-mate Stephen Gerrard it would make a move to London easier. Gerrard's switch to Chelsea is imminent: his advisers met Chelsea officials at the Croatia game and the deal should go through.
Ferreira played a key part in Porto's Champions League and Uefa Cup wins. The 25-year-old, who joined Porto from Vitoria Setubal in 2002, said recently, "I would be very happy if I could work with Jose Mourinho again."
Moyes, meanwhile, has agreed a £600, 000 deal with Ipswich for their striker Marcus Bent.
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