Malouda, 27, will join up with his Chelsea teammates in Los Angeles later this week. The winger said that he also spoke to Didier Drogba about joining the club. "I really felt that everyone wanted me. Didier [Drogba] pushed a lot. It was clear from the beginning. I also have gone to Chelsea to see matches as a fan, and have always enjoyed that.

"The coach really wanted me and I wanted my family to live in London. But most important was to feel he [Mourinho] wanted to recruit me. I spoke to coaches on the telephone, especially Rafael Benitez. But I had the impression that only Mourinho really wanted me."

Chelsea's new director of football, Avram Grant, promised yesterday that he would not undermine Mourinho despite the club manager's initial opposition to the deal. Speaking for the first time in his native Israel, Grant said that his controversial appointment had been done with the "blessing" of the Portuguese coach.

Mourinho has been appeased for now that Grant's responsibilities will not diminish his own influence but there can be little doubt that he would have agreed to the decision had it not been made clear that Roman Abramovich was adamant it happened. Grant, who spent a year at Portsmouth as director of football, was on the Chelsea flight to Los Angeles yesterday having also turned down a job among Sven Goran Eriksson's coaching staff at Manchester City.

Grant said: "I am happy, this is a dream come true for me. My work in Portsmouth was appreciated by many managers and club owners in England, who were not blind to my good work there. I would like to thank Portsmouth for a great and enjoyable season. I have a lot of work to do and I will do everything to help the many causes of Chelsea. Mourinho gave his blessing for my appointment. I will be responsible for all the professional matters in Chelsea and a co-ordinator in all football matters."

While Arjen Robben's future at the club remains in the balance, it seems that Khalid Boulahrouz's unhappy time at Stamford Bridge will be brought to an end less than a year after he signed from Hamburg for 7 million pounds. The central defender who never found favour with Mourinho last season has been given permission to speak to the Spanish side Seville with a view to a 3.5 million pound move.