Cole Chelsea's latest acquisition

Chelsea's extraordinary close-season spending continued last night when they agreed a £6.6 million fee for Joe Cole and closed in on a £15 million deal for Juan Sebastian Veron.

The arrival of Cole from West Ham and Veron from Manchester United would take the transfer outlay by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to £58.6 million since his takeover at Stamford Bridge at the start of last month.

Both players must still pass medicals and finalise personal terms, but the clubs involved expect the deals to go through. The only stumbling block will be if Veron decides he wants to stay at Old Trafford, though he is aware that Alex Ferguson regards him as surplus to requirements.

Chelsea will be keen to finalise the transfers by tomorrow's deadline for the Champions League, allowing the midfielders to play in the club's European qualifier, the first leg of which takes place next week.

Veron's £15 million fee represents a significant loss for United on the £28.1 million they paid Lazio for him in the summer of 2001.

However, Ferguson has decided to dispense with the Argentina international, who has rarely produced his best form in the Premiership.

Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri will trust he can coax greater consistency from the former Lazio player.

Although sources at Old Trafford last night described as premature reports that a deal for Veron had been finalised, they made clear that they expect the move to go through today. The 28-year-old has been offered a five-year contract by Chelsea worth £90,000 a week.

Chelsea's unprecedented spending spree should leave them with a remarkable array of inventive talent. Squad rotation could well figure large at Stamford Bridge.

There had been a widespread assumption that Ranieri would sign either Veron or Cole, but by swooping for both he has underlined his determination to bring maximum creativity to a team which has lost Gianfranco Zola. It also confirms the apparently bottomless pockets of Abramovich, who has already signed Damien Duff, Geremi, Wayne Bridge and Glen Johnson.

For Cole, the move to Stamford Bridge will provide the opportunity of Premiership football as he tries to justify his inclusion in Sven-Goran Eriksson's England squad.

While West Ham will be distraught to see two of their most talented young players depart for Chelsea, they will at least have benefited to the tune of £12.6 million as they seek to stabilise their beleaguered finances. The guts have been ripped out of their relegated squad, with other players including Frederic Kanoute and Trevor Sinclair having also departed.

West Ham added that Cole's departure meant no further sales would be necessary for financial reasons and that "all future offers will be decided by the manager on a team selection basis rather than by the board on a financial one". That suggests that Jermain Defoe will not be allowed to depart.

Guardian Service