CHELSEA'S most significant signing of the summer, the €22 million Brazilian Ramires, believes he has the resilience and aggression to flourish in the Premier League with the former Benfica midfielder expected to be involved at some stage against Stoke this afternoon, reports DOMINIC FIFIELD

The 23-year-old is slender of frame and was nicknamed the “Blue Kenyan” while at Cruzeiro, where his energy and ability to dominate midfield caught the eyes of scouts from the Portuguese club and prompted his €6 million move to Lisbon a year ago.

Ramires is most likely to be utilised at the base of Chelsea’s midfield but he can be employed across the middle with the physical reputation of the Premier League clearly holding few fears.

“I understand what this league is all about,” said Ramires. “I’ve watched it on the television and I know that physical strength is the main part of the English game. But I’m hard, too. I’m tough. I hope I can build up my strength to be on the same level as everyone else, but it’s already hard to put me down.

“I know tackles will be flying in, and it’ll be aggressive, but I can do that too. I like that side to the game and I can stand up for myself. People called me the ‘Blue Kenyan’ (Cruzeiro played in blue) because I never stop running.”

Ramires hails from Barra do Pirai in Rio de Janeiro and his rise to prominence was relatively swift. As a 16-year-old he was combining football training as a youngster at Joinville, a small club in Santa Catarina, with work on a building site to earn extra money for his family.

“I’d work Tuesday and Thursdays from 7am to 4pm, then go to football practice afterwards, and then 7 to 11am on Saturday,” he said. “I was earning between 80 and 100 reals (€35-€45) every 15 days. I’m not ashamed of that. That experience made me the man I am today.”