Chelsea have almost sealed the deal for Bayer Leverkusen forward Andre Schurrle after representatives of the German club, which included sporting director Rudi Voller, flew into London for talks.
Schurrle has been pursued by Chelsea for quite a while now and reports over the past week suggested the Blues were moving ever closer to agreeing on a £20 million ($30 million) transfer for the highly-rated German international.
It now seems only a matter of time, after Leverkusen sporting director Voller, along with assistant Michel Reschke, held talks with Chelsea officials in London.
"It was good to meet Chelsea officials, and the discussions went well, but no decision has been made yet, Voller was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
Leverkusen want Chelsea playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, enjoying a stellar campaign on loan with Werder Bremen, to join them on a season-long loan.
Voller and co. though face competition from Borussia Dortmund, who are ready to offer as much as £15 million ($22.5 million) for the Belgian international. Leverkusen are determined to convince De Bruyne to join them instead and are on their way to Brussels to negotiate with the 21-year-old's agent.
Schurrle's representatives Ingo Haspel and Michael Becker are also set to fly in to London to discuss personal terms, with Chelsea set to offer a five-year contract, according to the Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, Chelsea skipper John Terry insisted he is capable of playing more than a game a week, but was fully supportive of Rafa Benitez's rotation policy, which has seen the defender consigned to the bench on quite a few occasions.
"I accept the rotation system completely," he said. "I can definitely play twice a week, three games a week if need be. I don't know where that arose from.
"I'm fit, I'm training every day and have been for the last three months, so I just want to set the record straight.
"I'm available, but at the same time, if the manager chooses not to pick me and decides to go with the others, there is not a problem because I'm Chelsea through and through and I want nothing more than to get Champions League football.
"If that means me playing, great; if not, I will be the biggest supporter in the dressing room."
Terry scored two goals against Fulham in their English Premier League game in midweek, and believes the constant flow of fixtures will work in the team's favor rather than being a detriment.
"For us as a group of players, when the games are coming thick and fast we're at our best," he added.
"People say it's a lot of games and I think we will feel the effects of it in the summer. Hopefully we will get a rest after that.
"There will be a lot of games but at the same time, when you're playing, you don't get a chance to think about anything else.
"I prefer to play two to three games a week, otherwise you get long, drawn-out weeks and you end up doing a couple of days' running and feel just as tired.
"I'd rather be playing games than running."
