Manchester City and Chelsea make surprise signings in the dying moments of the transfer window

[Photo:Courtesy]

Chelsea have completed the £25m signing of Emerson Palmieri from Roma after https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images of the Brazilian being presented with a Blues shirt were leaked.

The 23-year-old can be seen holding up the No.33 shirt, previously worn by another Brazilian defender Alex, with his entourage and Blues Chief Marina Granovskaia.

The champions will pay Roma an initial £17.6m with a significant add-on dependent on his performances at Stamford Bridge.

The former Santos star enjoyed a fine season with the Giallorossi last term before a knee ligament injury disrupted his progress in Europe.

Despite falling behind Aleksandar Kolarov under Eusebio Di Francesco, Chelsea have seen enough in the Brazilian to believe he can recapture his best form after recovering this season.

Antonio Conte will aim to run the rule over Palmieri's fitness before handing him his debut.

Bournemouth on Wednesday will come too soon, though Watford on Monday night may present itself as an opportunity for Conte to have a first look at his new left wing-back.

Meanwhile, Manchester City completed a club record deal for Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte on Tuesday in a move by Pep Guardiola to bolster the Premier League leaders' defense for the title run-in.

City tweeted the announcement of the reported £57 million ($80 million, 65 million euros) deal with the message: "Defensive reinforcements acquired!"

The 23-year-old Frenchman is Guardiola's sixth signing of the 2017/18 season and has joined in a deal until 2023.

"I am very happy to be here," Laporte said. "City are a club with a lot of ambition and they are one of the best teams in Europe.

"I am looking forward to working under Pep Guardiola and trying to help the club to achieve success."

Txiki Begiristain, City’s director of football, said: "We are delighted to have signed Aymeric. We have assessed defensive options and he is a player we have admired for a long time.

"With his quality and ability to play out from the back, we feel Aymeric will fit in perfectly with Pep Guardiola’s playing style."