Chelsea are poised to sign versatile Dutch international defender Khalid Boulahrouz after agreeing a deal with German club Hamburg SV.Boulahrouz, 24, is due to travel to London at the weekend to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical.

Nicknamed “Khalid the Cannibal”, Boulahrouz joined Hamburg from RKC Waalwijk in the summer of 2004.

Capped 15 times by Holland, the centre-back started the last two Dutch World Cup games in Germany.

But he was red-carded in their defeat to Portugal in the last 16 stage, a stormy affair in which he was accused of deliberately trying to injure Cristiano Ronaldo with a thigh-high challenge.

“He is a good competitive player and will be a good addition to our squad,” Chelsea’s assistant manager Steve Clarke told Chelsea TV.

“He can play centre-back or either full-back position. I think he is right-footed and it is important to have one or two players around the squad who can play in a number of different positions.”

Boulahrouz’s arrival is unlikely to affect Chelsea’s pursuit of Ashley Cole, although could be a signal that they are prepared to allow Frenchman William Gallas to leave.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Posted August 19th, 2006 at 9:16 am in category Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.