Mourinho Closes Chelsea's Signing Window With Cut-price Belletti

Chelsea have abandoned their attempts to sign Daniel Alves from Sevilla, though they will listen to offers for either Lassana Diarra or Glen Johnson as Jose Mourinho attempts to trim his squad by one before the closure of the transfer window.

Mourinho yesterday unveiled Juliano Belletti, the Brazil right-back signed for £4m from Barcelona, apparently as the last of his summer signings having failed to secure Alves, much to the player's frustration. Chelsea will now attempt to offload either Diarra, who has attracted interest from Arsenal, or Johnson as they seek a first-team group of 26 players.

"Juliano's arrival gives me what I need, which is a closed door in my dressing room," said Mourinho. "We know the market is open until August 31, but not for us. We have the balance in the squad we need for the season. People will ask whether Belletti is my first-choice. For me, the point is always the same: the best player is the one who offers the best relation between quality and price. Belletti is a very good player and the relation between his quality and price makes him the best.

"But the door is open for a player to leave. I want my squad to be just a little bit shorter, from 27 to 26. I think it is obvious that our squad is very balanced and we have two players for every position but, at this moment, at right-back we have Belletti, Glen Johnson, Paulo Ferreira and Diarra, who is 50% a right-back. Every player likes to play so, if someone shows a real interest in one of them and they also show an interest in leaving, we can be open to that."

Arsenal continue to monitor Diarra, who would ultimately operate in midfield at the Emirates, while Aston Villa are seeking a right-back with increasing urgency. Johnson, the first signing of the Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea, spent last season on loan at Portsmouth and has made only 35 league starts for the Londoners since joining for £6m in the summer of 2003 from West Ham.

Alves, Mourinho's long-standing target, appears to be facing an uncomfortable future at Sevilla after two bids from Chelsea were rebuffed. The Brazilian was still bemoaning the club president José Maria del Nido's refusal to honor a gentleman's agreement, made a year ago, that he would be allowed to leave this summer.

"It's the opportunity of a lifetime and I want to leave," said Alves. "I am disappointed by the way I have been treated. In the four-and-a-half years that I have been here I have given everything, and I wanted more respect. But I do not want to talk badly of the club, because this is a matter between myself and the president."

The 31-year-old Belletti has arrived in his stead with Mourinho pleased to have secured his signature.

"As a player he is a pure right-back who has played for two of the biggest teams in the world, Brazil and Barcelona," said the Portuguese. "For Brazil he was world champion and at Barcelona he was not just a Spanish champion but a European champion. He's an attacking full-back and exactly what I was waiting for."

Steve Bruce is close to signing a new contract at Birmingham City, with the St Andrew's board expected to announce next week that their manager has agreed an improved 12-month rolling deal. The manager has 18 months remaining on the five-year deal he signed in 2004 but Birmingham have redrawn that contract, offering Bruce more security by virtue of the rolling agreement and also a pay rise.

"We're on the verge of an agreement, and I will be delighted when it's all done," said Bruce. "I'm coming up to six years here as manager, and I spent two here as a player here as well. This place has got into me and I want help us get back to where we once were in the Premier League."

Bruce also took the unusual step of admitting that he had wrongly criticized a referee, apologizing to Mark Halsey after he had claimed the official had wrongly awarded West Ham a penalty.