West Ham to seal £10m deal for Wright-Phillips

Chelsea are to cut their losses on Shaun Wright-Phillips by allowing the England winger to join West Ham United in the January transfer window.

The 25-year-old will move to Upton Park initially on loan until the end of the season with a permanent deal put in place for next summer. West Ham will pay £10m for the player with a deal brokered over his wages.

The fee will break West Ham's transfer record - which was only set last January by Dean Ashton who cost £7.25m from Norwich City - but, for Chelsea, it represents less than half the £21m they paid Manchester City for Wright-Phillips.

The Independent revealed West Ham's interest in the player yesterday and his expected arrival will end the long search of his manager, Alan Pardew, for a right-sided midfield player.

During the summer, Pardew had hoped to sign one of Steed Malbranque, James Milner, Brett Emerton or Bayer Leverkusen's Tranquillo Barnetta but was thwarted in his bids. As well as balancing out the midfield, Wright-Phillips also fits the bill of the young, English core of players that Pardew wants to continue to create at West Ham.

However, the club still faces the problem of what to do about their captain, Nigel Reo-Coker, who is understood to be keen to leave having attracted deadline-day interest last August from Manchester United and Arsenal. Pardew has been promised substantial financial backing by the club's new chairman, Eggert Magnusson, who heads the Icelandic consortium that has acquired West Ham for £85m plus taking on the debt of £22.5m. The signing of Wright-Phillips will be regarded as a coup for the new regime and for Pardew, who enjoys a good relationship with Chelsea's manager, Jose Mourinho.

Wright-Phillips' career has stalled badly since his move to Stamford Bridge in July 2005, with the England manager, Steve McClaren, becoming the latest to express concern over his lack of first-team football. He has made just two starts and nine substitute appearances this season and was desperate to leave last summer but was told there were other players who could go before him.

Also, Chelsea are adamant that they will only agree a deal for a permanent transfer. His stepfather, Ian Wright, who ended his top-flight career at West Ham, is also frustrated.

Wright-Phillips will not be the only arrival at West Ham in the January window with the club desperate to pull away from the relegation places and, eventually, fulfil Pardew's and Magnusson's aim of consistently challenging for European football.

The likelihood remains, however, that both Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano will leave the club in January if a transfer deal can be arranged. Under the rules of football's world governing body, Fifa, players are not allowed to make two moves within a season but that is only enforced if either of the football associations involved insists and the players are still effectively controlled by Kia Joorabchian.

Nevertheless, Magnusson insists Pardew will determine their future, and the manager is understood to be more enthusiastic than he was about Tevez, in particular, staying although it may be in everyone's best interests if the Argentines leave. If they do, West Ham will not receive any transfer fees.

Ferdinand assault charge

The West Ham United defender Anton Ferdinand was charged with assault and violent disorder yesterday after an alleged incident outside a night-club, police said. The charges relate to an alleged incident outside Faces in Ilford, east London, on 2 October. Ferdinand, 21, of Mottingham, south-east London, will appear before magistrates in Redbridge on Friday.

The SEM group, which represents Ferdinand, issued a statement saying the player "maintains his innocence".

The statement read: "We confirm that Anton has been charged with assault. Anton looks forward to having the opportunity to explain in court the incident and nature of his actions on the night in question. He maintains his innocence and believes his actions were justified and that because of this he believes he has not done anything wrong."