27 year old midfielder Florent Malouda could soon sign for Chelsea. The player is currently at French Ligue champions Lyon but could move to Stamford Bridge for a reported fee of £13.5m. Lyon accepted a transfer request from Malouda at the end of last season who has since been a target for Jose Mourinho.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is adamant that the arrival of the talented midfielder would not result in the exit of other players from the club. Arjen Robben has been linked with a move to Spain over the past weeks with Real Madrid grabbing the headlines as the most likely beneficiary. However, talks of a move have been played down as Chelsea look to extend their squad and mount a challenge to reclaim the Premiership title.

Malouda left Lyon's pre-season training camp on Wednesday and Chelsea will start their pre-season preparations on the 10^th of July over in Los Angeles. Chelsea and Malouda are eager to complete the deal prior to that date. When the deal goes ahead Malouda will be the only summer signing for the Premiership giants where money actually exchanges hands. So far Mourinho has signed Claudio Pizarro, Tal Ben Haim and Steve Sidwell all on free transfers.