Chelsea are close to making their first significant acquisition of the new transfer window, having entered formal negotiations with Bolton Wanderers over a £10 million deal to take Nicolas Anelka to Stamford Bridge. The approach was made before the new buying season opened at midnight last night, with Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, beginning talks with Phil Gartside, the Bolton chairman, over the weekend.

Discussions continued yesterday, with all parties confident that a deal will be finalised by the end of next week. Anelka has been kept informed of developments and is understood to be in little doubt that his appearance against Derby County tomorrow will be his last for Bolton.

Manchester United had also shown interest in the 28-year-old France forward, having made an informal inquiry to Bolton in May, but Sir Alex Ferguson is more eager to pursue Dimitar Berbatov, who is unsettled at Tottenham Hotspur. Emil Dantchev, Berbatov’s agent, is understood to have been referring to United and Chelsea when he stated yesterday that the Bulgaria forward plans to join “a club that corresponds to Dimitar’s class and ambition”.

United’s hopes of signing him this month are unclear, with a summer deal preferable from a financial view-point, but The Times has learnt that contact was made with Tottenham at boardroom level four weeks ago.

While Berbatov is likely to stay put this month, Anelka’s move to Chelsea seems certain to go through. Gary Megson, the Bolton manager, has reluctantly agreed to sell to raise funds to reinforce his squad and is unlikely to play him in the FA Cup third-round tie at home to Sheffield United on Saturday. Chelsea will be Anelka’s eighth club in a career that has taken him to Arsenal, Real Madrid and Liverpool, to name but three.

The acquisition of Anelka is regarded as essential by Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, not only to cover the absence of Didier Drogba, who will depart to play for Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations as soon as he recovers from a knee injury, but also to provide much-needed fire-power in the longer term. Unlike last January, when José Mourinho was denied funds to sign defensive reinforcements, Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, has promised to back Grant in the transfer market, with Anelka likely to be followed by at least one other signing.

Grant did his best to keep his cards close to his chest yesterday. “When we have news, we will tell you,” he said. “Our options are open. We don’t want to bring players in only for the next few months because of problems we have at the moment. We’re looking more long term than that.”