Chelsea are ready to offer Hernan Crespo in a £25 million swap deal for AC Milan striker Andrei Shevchenko.
The Sun says Blues' billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has finally persuaded Shevchenko to quit Serie A for the Premiership.
Sources close to the deal confirm the Ukrainian's Italian agent Fabio Paresi met Abramovich in London late last year to set the ball rolling.
The Russian and the Ukrainian World Cup goal-machine are personal friends.
But Shevchenko has repeatedly told Abramovich his loyalty to Milan would not allow him to jump ship and move to Chelsea.
The striker was originally valued at £30m after he pipped Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry to the European Player of the Year title.
But Chelsea have knocked it down because Shevchenko is now 29.
Crespo is happy to go in the other direction. He and Blues boss Jose Mourinho had a bitter fall-out, paving the way for his return to the club where he spent most of last season on loan.
Chelsea will smash their wage structure to pay Shevchenko around £150,000 a week AFTER tax - which will trigger pay rises for both John Terry and Frank Lampard.
The Sun says Blues' billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has finally persuaded Shevchenko to quit Serie A for the Premiership.
Sources close to the deal confirm the Ukrainian's Italian agent Fabio Paresi met Abramovich in London late last year to set the ball rolling.
The Russian and the Ukrainian World Cup goal-machine are personal friends.
But Shevchenko has repeatedly told Abramovich his loyalty to Milan would not allow him to jump ship and move to Chelsea.
The striker was originally valued at £30m after he pipped Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry to the European Player of the Year title.
But Chelsea have knocked it down because Shevchenko is now 29.
Crespo is happy to go in the other direction. He and Blues boss Jose Mourinho had a bitter fall-out, paving the way for his return to the club where he spent most of last season on loan.
Chelsea will smash their wage structure to pay Shevchenko around £150,000 a week AFTER tax - which will trigger pay rises for both John Terry and Frank Lampard.
