Chelsea have revealed that they have a pre-contract agreement with Emmanuel Petit and expect the player to join them from Barcelona on Monday July 1st.
Colin Hutchinson, managing director at Stamford Bridge, said that Chelsea had signed the agreement with both the Spanish club and Petit.
Copies of the signed contracts have also been lodged with the Football Association and the FA Premier League.
Chelsea kept details of the deal under wraps to comply with the wishes of the Catalan club who did not want it to affect their challenge to qualify for the Champions League next season.
"Our position is quite clear," Hutchinson told the London Evening Standard. "We've got a signed contract with Barcelona and with Petit. To cover ourselves, we lodged copies of these pre-contracts with the FA and the FA Premier League two weeks ago.
"We have got an agreement which kicks in on July 1st when we fully expect him to be a Chelsea player."
PA
