Phil Scolari officially takes charge as Chelsea FC manager on Tuesday, although he’s wasted little time in acquiring one of his Portuguese charges who had an especially good Euro 2008.

It was common knowledge that Deco was going to leave Barcelona this summer and the BBC report that he has decided to hook up with his former national team coach for the princely sum of £8million. By Chelsea’s standards, this is small change, although it’s probably a reflection on the fact that the midfielder is 30-years-old and Barca seemingly wanted rid of the playmaker.

“It is good for me to be here and first of all I am very happy to be here,” Deco told Chelsea’s official website.

“I am sure I have come at the right time to do great things and be able to help Chelsea go back to the way it was and come back to being the first one, not only in England but also to win the Champions League that has been their dream for so long,” added Deco.

“The Premier League is a great league and it is getting better and you can see that with the Champions League final, where you had two English teams.”

Deco certainly fits the bill as far as entertainment is concerned, although isn’t he a little over-the-hill? Not that it matters to a club who want to be loved for the way they stroke a football around the park, seemingly at the expense of building for the future.