Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Werder Bremen winger Marko Marin for £8million (Dh48m) leaving Manchester United and Manchester City to fight it out for Lille’s Eden Hazard.
The Blues announced on their official website on Saturday that they have agreed an undisclosed fee and the 23-year-old Germany international has agreed personal terms.
Marin will join Chelsea in the summer with Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku potentially joining the Bundesliga side on a season-long loan, although that is still to be confirmed by both teams.
The arrival of the German international, who primarily plays as a left winger or playmaker, implies that Chelsea have admitted defeat in trying to sign Belgian international Hazard.
The 21-year-old winger, last season’s Ligue 1 Player of the Year, is set to leave Les Dogues this summer and has previously stated the Premier League is his favoured destination with United and City already declaring their interest.
Marin, who joined Bremen from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2009 and was contracted to the club until June 2013, has already passed a medical in London and will sign a contract with the Blues in the next few weeks.
Marin said: “I had a really good time with Werder together with many great guys here, and I have lots of nice memories, but of course I am looking forward to the challenge of playing in the Premier League with such an established club.”
Marin made his Germany debut in 2008 and was part of their 2010 World Cup squad. However, he has spent much of this season on the sidelines due to injury and is not assured of a place in Joachim Low’s squad for Euro 2012.
Bremen’s director of sport Klaus Allofs said in a statement: “We have always said that we would be open to talk if any of our players receives a good offer which was also interesting for Werder and we had good talks with the management at Chelsea, so that we were able to reach an agreement quickly. In the coming weeks, we will then deal with the last formalities. We wish Marko all the best for this new challenge.”
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