Alexandre Pato is to fly to London overnight to finalise a six-month loan deal with Chelsea after the move was sanctioned by his current club, Corinthians, with the Brazil forward hoping his form convinces the Premier League club to make the move permanent in the summer.
The striker, who boasts 27 caps and enjoyed a productive six-year spell with AC Milan earlier in his career, has not played a competitive game since November when he returned from a two-season loan stint with Sao Paulo and will undergo medical tests in England. Pato’s agent, Gilmar Veloz, told Brazilian TV that his client would board a flight just before midnight on Tuesday with no late hitches anticipated in the deal.
The 26-year-old, who has entered the final 12 months of his deal at the Brazilian club and rejected the chance to move to the Chinese Second Division side Tianjin Quanjian earlier this month, will require a work permit, with Chelsea apparently prepared to cover his current wage package of around £30,000-a-week (€40,000) over the loan. Corinthians are keen to move Pato on permanently, and their asking price is likely to drop further from its current £10 million (€13.2 million) at the end of the current English campaign.
His arrival is likely to have implications for the immediate futures of either Loic Remy or Radamel Falcao at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea would ideally like to cancel the latter's year-long loan arrangement with Monaco, though the French club have yet to be convinced by the timescale involved in the striker recovering full fitness after a thigh injury which has kept him out since the end of October.
Should they prove reluctant to recall the Colombian then Remy may be permitted to leave Chelsea in search of regular first-team football after only seven Premier League starts over 17 months at the club. Newcastle United are keen to secure his services on loan, though Crystal Palace, Swansea City and Leicester City are also suitors for his signature.
Chelsea expect to conclude the sale of Ramires for an initial £20 million (€26.4 million) to the Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning in the next 48 hours, with the Brazil midfielder to undergo a medical on Wednesday. That deal has been negotiated by the director, Marina Granovskaia, and represents a fine profit for a 28-year-old bought from Benfica for £18 million back in 2010. Ramires, who has not started a Premier League game under Guus Hiddink's interim stewardship, has been offered a four-year contract by Jiangsu.
(Guardian service)
