Branislav Ivanovic has been heavily linked with a move to Italian Serie A, and in particular Juventus, since the summer, but the last couple of months have seen Premiership giants Manchester United and Chelsea take pole position.
However, The Sun claims that the race is well and truly over, as the Sky Blues have agreed terms with Lokomotiv Moscow for the young Serb's transfer after seeing off their competititors from Manchester and Turin.
Lokomotiv will be richer by £8.9million (just over 13 million euros) as a result of the move, while the player will jet in this week itself to complete his medical and put pen to paper on a bumper five year deal.
Reports earlier had suggested that Lokomotiv wanted to wait until the summer, when some Spanish giants would also enter the fray, thereby pushing the price to the 20 million mark, but pressure from the player and his agent seems to have told.
The move was given the go ahead by owner Roman Abramovich in light of John Terry's injury worries. Ricardo Carvalho is back in action, but has also had his problems this year, while Tal Ben Haim has looked shaky at best.
He represented Serbia in last summer's European under-21 Championships in Holland, and is already Nemanja Vidic's partner in the Serbian national team. At 6ft 3in, he is dominant in the air, and perfectly suited to the English game.
Having shored up their defence, the Blues will now step up their chase of a striker, with Nicolas Anelka or Dimitar Berbatov expected to move to Stamford Bridge within the next week.
There are also reports that Chelsea are willing to offload Wayne Bridge, with Liverpool ready to offer £6million for the England international.