PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS Chelsea are on the verge of securing the signature of Brazilian World Cup midfielder Ramires from Benfica for a fee of about £17m (€20.5m).

The 23-year-old is understood to be scheduled for a medical at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, and to be signed up for a four-year deal.

The BBC reports that the transfer is somewhat complicated, however, by the fact that his current club Benfica only own 50% of the player, with a British consortium owning the other 50% in a deal similar to those of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

The owners are believed to include controversial businessman Kia Joorabchian – who was involved in the Tevez-Mascherano saga.

“Ramires staying doesn’t depend solely on us,” The Sun quotes Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira as saying.

“There is a partnership and we must respect that. If there is a good proposal, we will do everything we can to make it work for us.”

Ramires was left out of the club’s 4-1 pre-season win over Aston Villa on Sunday as negotiations conintued.

The tough-tackling midfielder won praise from national coach Dunga after impressive appearances as a substitute in Brazil’s World Cup group games.

Ramirez joins a Chelsea squad that already includes Michael Essien, Frank Lamoard, Yossi Benayoun, John Obi Mikel, Florent Malouda, Nemanja Matic and Scott Sinclair vying for midfield berths.

Ramires would become the 29th member of the squad, with coach Carlo Ancelotti required to register a maximum of 25 players for Premier League competition before the end of the month.