CHELSEA signalled the start of a £50million spree by agreeing an £8.9m deal for Serbian star Branislav Ivanovic. The Lokomotiv Moscow centre-half flies into London this week to sign after the Blues saw off interest from Manchester United and Juventus. Chelsea boss Avram Grant made his move to clinch the first major deal of the January sales after getting the go-ahead from Roman Abramovich.Now he wants to sign two strikers — with Bolton’s Nicolas Anelka and Dimitar Berbatov of Tottenham in his sights — plus a right-back and a midfielder. Ivanovic, 23, had been expected to link up with his Serbian defensive partner Nemanja Vidic at Old Trafford but United baulked at Lokomotiv’s asking price. But Grant decided he could not afford to quibble after flying to Moscow in October to make a personal check on the player.
Ivanovic will be followed to London by Bolton striker Anelka. The French ace is poised to complete a £10m move, as revealed by SunSport last month. Anelka, 28, said: “The chairmen of Bolton and Chelsea are discussing a transfer and I hope it happens. I want to go to a bigger club.”
Grant is also weighing up a £26m bid for Berbatov.