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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;BANGKOK (Reuters) --q Chelsea have agreed terms with Barcelona to sign Spanish defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu but the Premier League club is unlikely to formalise the deal for some time, manager Andre Villas-Boas said on Saturday.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Romeu is currently on national team duty with Spain at the Under 20 World Cup in Colombia, which runs from July 29-Aug. 20, and would need to pass a medical and agree personal terms with the London club.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Villas-Boas said the 19-year-old would be ideal in bolstering the midfield with Ghanian Michael Essien ruled out for as long as six months to recover from knee surgery after he sustained a cruciate ligament injury.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"It's a sector in which we're struggling with numbers, not only after Michael's injury,\" Villas-Boas told a news conference in Bangkok during Chelsea's pre-season Asian tour.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"Oriol is a player with a bright future, he still has to evolve and prove himself as a player. He's one of the most interesting bright young players ... hopefully we can agree terms and he can pass a medical.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"Again, we are far from reaching personal terms with the player,\" he added.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Romeu started his career as a youth player with Espanyol before joining Barcelona's academy in 2004 and played 49 games for the club's reserve side before making his first team debut in La Liga in May.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Villas-Boas also said 19-year-old Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who is expected complete a deal to join the Blues from Racing Genk, could be sent straight out on loan.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cortois is reportedly set to start the season with Atletico Madrid but Villas-Boas said a decision had not yet been taken.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"It is also a question of time and of deciding where we think it is better for him to evolve as a player, in Spain or in another country,\" he said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"The Spanish League is extremely competitive and Atletico is a great club to be at, but it is not decided yet.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Chelsea beat a Malaysian XI 1-0 in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday and will play a Thailand Premier League All Stars team in Bangkok on Sunday, before heading to Hong Kong for the final match of their tour.&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/soccer/2011/07/23/chelsea-romeu>