Visa, work permit delay Rahman’s Chelsea debut

Baba Rahman’s Chelsea debut is likely to be delayed for a few more days as the defender has been forced to delay his arrival in the UK because of immigration formalities.

According to the Daily Mail newspaper, the Ghana international must wait till the completion of the necessary work permit and visa applications to be processed by the UK authorities.

The former Augsburg left-back sealed a five-year contract with the Blues at the weekend after passing a medical in Paris.

The deal is initially worth £14million and could rise a further £3.5m in bonuses depending on Chelsea performances, another £700,000 after the 21-year-old Ghanaian completes 20 games and a further £3.5m after he has made 100 appearances — meaning the total value of the deal could reach almost £22m.

At he prepares to move to London, Rahman has paid tribute to his former German Bundesliga side, saying he enjoyed his time in Bavaria but a move to Stamford Bridge was too good to turn down.

“I have made this decision and it is really not easy because I felt good at Augsburg,” Rahman told Augsburg's official website.
“But the move to England is a very big opportunity for me to play at a top club like Chelsea, so I would like to take this step. I am really looking forward to playing with many great footballers.”

A quick defender who is comfortable using either foot, Rahman joined Augsburg a year ago from German second division club Greuther Furth for just £2m, set up two goals on his home debut against Dortmund and by the end of the campaign had made more tackles (109) than any other player in Germany’s top flight.