Edouard Mendy has said his farewells to Rennes teammates ahead of joining Chelsea.
L'Equipe says the player has informed the Rennes squad that the deal is set to be completed.
Talks with Mendy's club Rennes have been ongoing but according to his agent Djily Dieng a significant breakthrough has happened over the past few days.
"The deal with Chelsea is almost done. Only the formalisation is remaining," he told Extra Time.
"It could be completed even in the next hours."
Mendy is set to become the seventh signing in an extraordinary summer of spending for Chelsea after Sportsmail revealed at the weekend they had agreed a £25million fee with the Ligue 1 side.