Chelsea have been given the go-ahead to complete the £18.2m transfer of the Brazil midfielder Ramires from Benfica after the player was granted a work permit at a tribunal today.
The clearance came this afternoon after the Chelsea assistant manager, Ray Wilkins, and the club secretary, Dave Barnard, attended a hearing in London and argued their case for Ramires to receive a permit under the special circumstances clause, given that he has not played the required 75% of games for Brazil over the past two years.
The panel sanctioned the signing of the 23-year-old widely recognised as one of the most sought-after young talents in the game. The Brazilian is expected to arrive in London tomorrow to complete the paperwork, although he is unlikely to be considered for Saturday's visit of West Bromwich Albion to Stamford Bridge.
West Ham United will have to appeal after the Serbian forward Miralem Sulejmani, signed provisionally on loan from Ajax yesterday, saw his application rejected. The 21-year-old, who was not included in his country's squad for this summer's World Cup finals, had agreed a 12-month deal subject to being granted a work permit after spending two years at Ajax following a £13m move from Heerenveen.
Fulham were disappointed in their pursuit of the defender Slobodan Rajkovic, who spent three years with Chelsea on loan at PSV Eindhoven and FC Twente in Holland, and is now a free agent. Mark Hughes attended his hearing today but saw the 21-year-old's work permit application rejected, with an appeal likely to follow.