Samuel Eto'o set to complete move to Chelsea

Chelsea will sign Samuel Eto’o on a stunning £7million one-year deal on Thursday after admitting defeat in their pursuit of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Eto’o, the 32-year-old Cameroon forward, is taking a huge pay cut from the £17m a year that made him the world’s best paid footballer at Anzhi Makhachkala and will sign on a free transfer.

However, Anzhi are understood to have sweetened the deal by giving Eto’o a multi-million-pound lump sum to get him off their wage bill.

He arrived at London's St Pancras station on Wednesday night, where he was pictured with super-agent Pini Zahavi, and is due to have a medical at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground before finalising terms after his advisers held talks.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, a confirmed Eto’o admirer, turned to his Plan B after United refused to sell Rooney.

‘There is only one Jose Mourinho,’ Eto’o once said about his former manager. ‘I have played under a lot of great coaches but there is no other character in the game like Jose.

'I would like to have the chance to play under him again because it is never boring when Jose is around.’ Eto’o’s arrival comes as a further blow to the three strikers already at Stamford Bridge.

Fernando Torres and Romelu Lukaku were on the bench at Old Trafford on Monday night and Demba Ba, wanted back at Newcastle by Alan Pardew, was not even in the squad.

Great addition IMO, he was lethal in Spain and outstanding in Italy! lets see how he'll cope with English football?