ChelseaFCSW6: 18 Jul 2008

Friday 18 July 2008

Ben Haim Off To Eastlands

Tal Ben Haim will bring his miserable 12 months at Chelsea to an end next week and join Manchester City for a fee £5million, according to the Mail online.
He has agreed a four-year contract worth around £40,000-a-week and is looking forward to a new challenge.
Ben Haim, 26, joined on a free transfer from Bolton last summer, but struggled for form at the start of the campaign and barely featured once Jose Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant as manager in September.
He made just 13 appearances and was fined two weeks’ wages after criticising fellow Israeli Grant.
He said: 'If I knew Grant was going to be the coach I would have signed for another club. It was Mourinho who brought me here and no one except he and I know the conversation we had when he tried to sign me.
'The fact is while Mourinho was the coach, I played most of the games and people who know me know I would not have come here to be a reserve. I knew nothing good would come for me with Grant as Chelsea coach.'
Ben Haim has been training with the squad but will miss next week’s pre-season tour of China.
Right-back Juliano Belletti, is wanted by Benfica on loan.
Belletti joined from Barcelona for £4m but the arrival of Jose Bosingwa for £16.2m in May means he is surplus to requirements.