Chelsea Complete Signing of £16.2m Bosingwa

Any sense of frustration eating away at Chelsea after Manchester United claimed the title at their expense was eased marginally this evening when the Londoners denied the Premier League winners one of their long-standing targets by beating them to the signature of the highly-rated Porto right-back Jose Bosingwa.

The Portugal defender spent today discussing personal terms alongside his agent, Jorge Mendes, at Stamford Bridge after undergoing a medical ahead of the completion of a deal which will eventually cost £16.2m, with his capture effectively serving as a statement of Chelsea's intent. Bosingwa has signed a three-year contract and, while Avram Grant is only inclined at present upon adding a few new faces to his squad for next season, Roman Abramovich is prepared to spend lavishly on those new arrivals in the summer ahead.

There was some satisfaction to be had in denying United the 25-year-old. Sir Alex Ferguson's No2, Carlos Queiroz, had identified the full-back as a potential successor to Gary Neville at Old Trafford, claiming in December that the defender was already "good enough to play for United if he wants to". The Congo-born player, who has played for Seia and Boavista in Portugal, has opted instead to pursue a career in London where he may expect to feature more regularly in the first team in the immediate future.

Right-back has proved something of a problematic position for Chelsea, despite Paulo Ferreira earning himself a new five-year contract at the club which was signed earlier this season. Grant and Frank Arnesen, the head of Chelsea's scouting and recruitment network, had considered moves for Bayern Munich's Philipp Lahm, Daniel Alves of Sevilla and Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid before opting to pursue Bosingwa.

The Portuguese, who can also play on the wing, will compete with Ferreira at right-back, with the Brazilian Juliano Belletti – signed from Barcelona last summer – expected to leave the club in the summer. Michael Essien has been employed at full-back in recent weeks, as much to accommodate his energy in the team, although the attack-minded and pacey Bosingwa will be confident of becoming first choice.