adminLONDON. — Chelsea have made their third major signing of the summer, and second from Atletico Madrid, after the Spanish soccer champions confirmed a deal for Filipe Luis had been agreed.
Pending a medical, the Brazilian left-back will sign for the West Londoners for a fee of around £20m, following on from Diego Costa’s £32m move from the same club.
The 28-year-old joined the Rojiblancos from Deportivo La Coruna in 2010 and played a key role in winning two Uefa Super Cups, the 2012 Europa League, the 2013 Copa del Rey and 2014 La Liga, as well as starring in the club’s run to last season’s Champions League final.
The Brazil international has four caps but failed to make the cut for Luis Felipe Scolari’s World Cup squad, with Real Madrid’s Marcelo and Paris Saint-Germain’s Maxwell preferred ahead of him.
Along with Cesar Azpilicueta, Luis will help fill the void left by Ashley Cole, who joined Roma on a two-year deal when the Blues failed to offer him an extension.
But Demba Ba has ended his difficult tenure at Chelsea after the striker confirmed his transfer to Besiktas with a picture of himself wearing the Turkish side’s shirt yesterday.
Ba will wear the number 9 shirt in Turkey in a deal reportedly thought to be worth about £8m.
The forward’s departure from west London comes one day after the Blues confirmed the £32m signing of Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid.
Ba, who joined Chelsea from Newcastle United for £7m in the winter of 2013, scored 14 goals in 51 appearances at the Stamford Bridge outfit but found himself behind Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o in the Chelsea pecking order.
The striker will now attempt to revive his career at Besiktas after completing a five-and-a-half year move to the Turkish giants.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa has completed his transfer to Chelsea on a five-year deal.
The fee for the 25-year-old Spain international is understood to be £32m.
“I am very happy to sign for Chelsea,” Costa said.
“Everybody knows it is a big club in a very competitive league, and I am very excited to get started in England.”
Costa becomes Chelsea’s third summer signing following the arrivals of Cesc Fabregas and Mario Pasalic.
The striker scored 36 goals in 52 games for Atletico last term as they won their first La Liga title since 1996 and reached the Champions League final. Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho had made the addition of a “killer” striker a key priority during the summer.
The London club scored 71 goals in the league last season, 31 fewer than champions Manchester City, who finished four points ahead of them, as Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o all struggled to find the net consistently.
Costa will rejoin international team-mate Fabregas following a disappointing World Cup campaign in which Spain exited the tournament at the group stage.
And Liverpool have completed the £20m signing of winger Lazar Markovic from Benfica on a “long-term deal”.
The 20-year-old helped Benfica win the Portuguese title last season after joining the club from Partizan Belgrade in the summer of 2013.
“I hope that I will fulfil the expectations of the supporters, coaches, players and all connected to the club,” he told Liverpool’s website.
The Serbia international becomes the club’s fourth signing this summer.
Liverpool have already signed striker Rickie Lambert (32) for £4m and midfielder Adam Lallana (26) for £25m, both from Southampton.
Germany Under-21 midfielder Emre Can (20) has also moved to Anfield, joining from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth £10m. — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter