LONDON - Branislav Ivanovic's arrival at Chelsea will inevitably put the spotlight back on the future of Israeli defender Tal Ben-Haim.
Ivanovic completed his move to Chelsea by signing a three-and-a-half year deal to become the second new arrival at Stamford Bridge during the current transfer window.
The former Lokomotiv Moscow defender follows the acquisition of Nicolas Anelka from Bolton for £15million last week.
Chelsea are thought to have paid around £9million for the 23-year-old Serbia international who is relishing the chance to play in the Premier League with the Blues.
Ivanovic said: "It is the dream of every footballer to want to move on and improve yourself - and the ultimate is to play for such a big team as this."
The defender is a versatile addition to Chelsea's squad as he can play right-back, centre-back or as defensive midfielder.
But that versatility will renew speculation that Ben-Haim will be leaving Chelsea with Tottenham now favourites to land the player.
Ben-Haim joined Chelsea last summer but has so far failed to shine during his time at the club.
Chelsea have often looked most vulnerable when Ben-Haim has been involved in the centre of defence and his tactical awareness at the top level has been found wanting on a number of occasions.
Tottenham coach Juande Ramos is determined to strengthen a defence that has leaked goals all season.
Ramos has been boosted by the return to fitness of captain Ledley King but the form of Michael Dawson has been inconsistent and the Spurs coach wants to eradicate the weaknesses in his rearguard.
Ben-Haim would coast around £8 million and his sale would allow Chelsea to recoup almost the entire fee paid for Ivanovic.
Ivanovic's signing is another clever piece of business by Grant. The defender began his career in Serbia with Sremska Mitrovica before moving to Belgrade to play for OFK Beograd where he remained for three seasons.
He signed for Lokomotiv in the summer of 2006 and appeared for the Russian side in this season's UEFA Cup.
A star of Serbia's under-21 side in both the 2006 and 2007 European Championships, Ivanovic was voted into last summer's UEFA team of the tournament, and has successfully graduated into a regular for the full national side.
He made his full debut in June 2006, and is now a regular in the Serbia line-up alongside Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic. He has nine caps and has scored once.
