CHELSEA ARE SET to sign France striker Loic Remy from Queens Park Rangers before Monday’s transfer deadline, according to Hoops manager Harry Redknapp.
Remy was set to start for QPR in their 1-0 Premier League win at home to Sunderland on Saturday, but Redknapp revealed the 27-year-old was pulled out of the team after Chelsea’s approach.
The Blues are reported to have triggered an £8 million (10.1 million euros) release clause in Remy’s contract after settling on the former Marseille forward as a replacement for Spain striker Fernando Torres, who is joining AC Milan on a two-year loan.
“He was in the team. I just got a phone-call about 12 o’clock (1100 GMT) to say it looks like he is going to be moving,” Redknapp told the BBC ahead of kick-off at Loftus Road.
“The deal looks like it has been done, so I had to make a change. As far as I know (it is Chelsea). He didn’t refuse to play, but it’s difficult to go out there to play and get your head around it.”
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Speaking after his team’s 6-3 victory at Everton later on Saturday, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho confirmed his club were working to seal the deal.
“We are trying since yesterday, when we knew Fernando was leaving, to get Loic Remy but I don’t know the status,” he told Sky Sports.
Remy would have moved to Liverpool in July, but he failed a medical for unspecified reasons.
Asked if he was concerned the same issue might come up during his Chelsea medical, Mourinho added: “We have a fantastic doctor and I trust him completely. They will identify any problem.”
Remy joined QPR in January 2013, but following the club’s relegation to the Championship, he spent last season on loan at Newcastle United, scoring 14 goals in 26 league games.
Meanwhile, Redknapp has revealed that 29-year-old France international midfielder Lassana Diarra has agreed to join QPR from Lokomotiv Moscow.
Diarra previously played under Redknapp at Portsmouth and the QPR manager said: “Lassana has signed and I’m delighted to have him. I had him at Portsmouth and he is a terrific player.”
The conditions of Diarra’s transfer have not been revealed.
QPR will be the fourth English side that Diarra has played for after previous spells with Chelsea and Arsenal.
The central midfielder joined Real Madrid from Portsmouth in January 2009 and spent three and a half years in the Spanish capital before a pair of unsuccessful stints at Russian clubs Anzhi Makhachkala and Lokomotiv.
Redknapp reveals Remy set for Chelsea switch as Torres departs
CHELSEA ARE SET to sign France striker Loic Remy from Queens Park Rangers before Monday’s transfer deadline, according to Hoops manager Harry Redknapp.
Remy was set to start for QPR in their 1-0 Premier League win at home to Sunderland on Saturday, but Redknapp revealed the 27-year-old was pulled out of the team after Chelsea’s approach.
The Blues are reported to have triggered an £8 million (10.1 million euros) release clause in Remy’s contract after settling on the former Marseille forward as a replacement for Spain striker Fernando Torres, who is joining AC Milan on a two-year loan.
“He was in the team. I just got a phone-call about 12 o’clock (1100 GMT) to say it looks like he is going to be moving,” Redknapp told the BBC ahead of kick-off at Loftus Road.
Speaking after his team’s 6-3 victory at Everton later on Saturday, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho confirmed his club were working to seal the deal.
“We are trying since yesterday, when we knew Fernando was leaving, to get Loic Remy but I don’t know the status,” he told Sky Sports.
Remy would have moved to Liverpool in July, but he failed a medical for unspecified reasons.
Remy joined QPR in January 2013, but following the club’s relegation to the Championship, he spent last season on loan at Newcastle United, scoring 14 goals in 26 league games.
Meanwhile, Redknapp has revealed that 29-year-old France international midfielder Lassana Diarra has agreed to join QPR from Lokomotiv Moscow.
The conditions of Diarra’s transfer have not been revealed.
QPR will be the fourth English side that Diarra has played for after previous spells with Chelsea and Arsenal.
The central midfielder joined Real Madrid from Portsmouth in January 2009 and spent three and a half years in the Spanish capital before a pair of unsuccessful stints at Russian clubs Anzhi Makhachkala and Lokomotiv.
- © AFP, 2014
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Changes Barclays Premier League Fernando Torres Harry Redknapp Loic Remy Chelsea Liverpool Queens Park Rangers