Chelsea agree fee for Barcelona's Under-20 international Oriol Romeu

The Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has announced the club have agreed a deal for the Barcelona midfielder Oriel Romeu. Photograph: Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters

Chelsea have agreed terms with Barcelona for the transfer of Oriol Romeu, in a deal thought to be around ?4.5m, and will now seek to finalise a contract with the Spaniard.

The 19-year-old defensive midfielder, who played regularly for the Barcelona B team and who is currently at the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia with Spain, has yet to undergo a medical at Chelsea but is being lined up as cover for the injured Michael Essien.

The Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said: "It is a part of the squad in which we are struggling with numbers because of Michael Essien's injury and Oriol is a player with a bright future. He still has to evolve as a player.

"The Barcelona B team had a magnificent year in the Spanish second division - they finished third. Oriol had an injury during the season but he came back late on and was in time to play for the first team. So he is one of the most promising young players in that position and hopefully we can agree personal terms and hopefully he will pass a medical."

Chelsea are also attempting to sign the Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku, the 18-year-old who the club believe can develop into a player similar to the striker Didier Drogba. However, if they are successful in their bid, the forward may be loaned out to gain first-team experience.

Villas-Boas also revealed the decision to loan Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to Atletico Madrid once he completes his move from Racing Genk had not been finalised.

"The Spanish League is an extremely competitive league and Atletico is a great club to be at but it is not decided yet on his future," he said. "It is still a couple of days until we can confirm agreement between all three parties."

Villas-Boas' is likely to spend again before the transfer window closes, with the blessing of chief executive Ron Gourlay, who said: "From our activity in the marketplace in the past, if the coach feels there is a player available that can strengthen our team then we almost definitely go into the market place."

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Chelsea prepare to up bid for Luka Modric beyond £30m

Luka Modric has described Chelsea as 'a club all players dream of joining'. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Chelsea's stubborn pursuit of Luka Modric is set to continue with Tottenham Hotspur braced to receive a third improved offer in excess of ?30m for the unsettled Croatia international.

Modric, who is contracted to Spurs until 2016 and is on tour with the club in South Africa, has publicly expressed his desire to move to Stamford Bridge and, with his relationship with the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, having apparently fractured beyond repair, had submitted a formal transfer request on the eve of the squad's departure for Johannesburg. Levy maintains that the player will not be sold at any price.

Yet Chelsea have been suitably encouraged by Modric's clearly expressed desire to move to Stamford Bridge - "They are a club all players dream of joining," he told the Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti last weekend – that they will maintain their interest in the midfielder. The Londoners have backed off in the past in their pursuit of a player when warned there was no desire to sell, most notably when Santos refused to countenance the young striker Neymar's transfer last summer, but they intend to continue to test Tottenham's resolve to retain the 25-year-old and will lodge a third bid.

There is an acceptance that theirs is likely to prove a protracted and acrimonious chase that could drag well into August, though Modric has been identified as Chelsea's principal target and will remain a priority. Their previous inquiries – an opening offer of ?22m was rejected last month, with an improved package worth around ?27m knocked back early last week – had served to infuriate Levy and strengthen his resolve to retain the player.

The Spurs manager, Harry Redknapp, has since stressed: "We know Luka wants to leave, so whether he writes it down on a piece of paper doesn't really make any different to our stance." Modric, who has been suffering from a slight ankle injury, is expected to miss Tottenham's friendly on Saturday against Kaizer Chiefs at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane.

Chelsea, whose first team depart on a two-week tour of the Far East on Sunday, remain in dialogue with Anderlecht over the potential signing of their Belgium international forward, Romelu Lukaku, though the clubs are still some distance apart in terms of their valuation of the teenage striker.

The Londoners are also considering whether their interest in the England midfielder Scott Parker should be pursued, with West Ham United having now indicated they would allow the player to depart Upton Park only in a permanent ?8m move rather than on a season-long loan.

A temporary switch, even involving the payment of a substantial loan fee, had made some financial sense to Chelsea given the loss of Michael Essien to a serious knee injury until February at the earliest. Parker, too, would have favoured that arrangement though Aston Villa have since expressed an interest in signing the 30-year-old on a permanent basis and may yet meet West Ham's asking price.

Villas-Boas did make some progress on Friday by agreeing new contracts with the highly rated England Under-21 internationals Josh McEachran and Ryan Bertrand. The former has signed a new five-year deal initially worth around ?25,000 a week having impressed when given the chance to feature in the first team last season. The 18-year-old should play some part in Saturday's friendly at Portsmouth.

"This season my target is just to play more minutes," said McEachran, who played 17 times under Carlo Ancelotti. "If not at Chelsea, then I will go out on loan, but I want to play here as much as I can."

Bertrand, who was an ever-present for Stuart Pearce's Under-21s in the summer's European Championship in Denmark, has signed a four-year deal and, with competition fierce at left-back, could now be made available for loan.

Newly promoted Swansea City had expressed some tentative interest in bringing the 21-year-old, who spent the first half of last season at Nottingham Forest, to the Liberty Stadium.

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