The Chelsea midfielder Ramires is set to join the Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning and could be followed out of Stamford Bridge by French striker Loic Remy, as the champions gear up for a busy final week of the transfer window.
Ramires, an €23.7 million signing from Benfica in 2010, has not started a Premier League match under the interim stewardship of Guus Hiddink, and was not included among the substitutes for the draw with Everton and Sunday's win at Arsenal.
He signed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge in October, but having slipped down the pecking order is now being offered a deal of similar duration by Jiangsu.
The Chinese club, coached by the former Chelsea player Dan Petrescu, will pay an initial €26.3 million for the 28-year-old. Their squad are at a training camp in Malaga and Ramires could join his new team- mates in Spain before they return to China.
Ramires, capped 52 times by Brazil, has started only seven league games this season, the last of which was the 2-1 defeat at Leicester that proved to be José Mourinho’s last match as manager.
He may not be the only departure from Chelsea in the final week of the window, with Remy’s suitors having been offered some encouragement that the striker may be made available for permanent transfer at about €13.15 million. He has started one Premier League game all season – and seven since joining from Queens Park Rangers for €10.5 billion in the summer of 2014 – and has been agitating for a fresh start elsewhere for some time.
Chelsea have been reluctant to lose the player mid- season, particularly as that would leave Diego Costa as their only fit and available striker with Radamel Falcao, on loan from Monaco, injured. Yet they believe they are close to securing Alexandre Pato from Corinthians on loan for the remainder of this season with a view to a permanent deal for a player who scored 63 goals for Milan in a six-year spell. Pato's arrival would allow Chelsea to invite offers for Remy.
Crystal Palace and Newcastle United are keen on securing the striker, who scored 14 goals in a loan spell on Tyneside two seasons ago, while Swansea City are also monitoring his availability.
Palace's urgency has intensified after Connor Wickham was charged with violent conduct after an incident with Tottenham Hotspur's Jan Vertonghen on Saturday.
The €7.9 million signing from Sunderland is facing a three-match ban after the incident was reviewed by the FA’s video panel. Guardian Service
