Chelsea have completed the signing of Germany international Andre Schurrle from Bayern Leverkusen for £18 million.
The 22 year old, who has been on the clubs radar for some time, becomes first signing of Jose Mourinho’s second spell as Blues manager.
Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has not been included as part of the deal, despite reports that he could be moving in the opposite direction.
Mourinho stated on Monday that he was keen to give opportunities to those Chelsea players who excelled on loan last season, namely De Bruyne and forward Romelu Lukaku.
Schurrle can play anywhere on the forward line, but has been used prominently on the left wing,
Meanwhile, Monaco are reportedly planning to scupper Chelsea’s approaches for Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk by launching a bid of their own.
The Brazilian international has been linked with a move away from the Petrovsky Stadium after a difficult first season in Russia; scoring just seven goals in eighteen league games.
Monaco’s spending appears to have no limit, with the newly promoted outfit having already signed Radamel Falcao, James Roddriguez and Joao Moutinho, all of whom are former teammates of Hulk.
The quartet played together at Porto during the 2010/11 campaign.