Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admits he wants to keep hold of defender Slobodan Rajkovic.
Chelsea have applied for a work permit for the Serbia international.
"I think that Rajko deserves a chance with a hearing panel," Villas-Boas told chelseafc.com. "He has shown his qualities throughout all this pre-season.
"We weren't able to use him against Portsmouth but again you saw the level that he is at this moment and it is a question we have to address carefully because also at this moment we all know the choices that we have to take in the central defender role because we have five positions and four of them are top central defenders.
"The most important thing for Rajko and his future is for him to get this panel hearing because I think his talent is good enough for the Premier League. Let's do it step by step and hopefully enough we will be able to convince the panel that Rajkovic deserves a chance in the Premier League."
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