Agence France Presse kindly confirms that a Lazio delegation caught a flight from Rome to London on Monday morning.

I think we can safely take it that this will seal the Anelka deal once and for all... although it looks like Lazio player Roberto Mancini may also be lining up a move to Chelsea: at 34, it seems the only place he can get a game these days is with his old mate Luca Vialli. (Of course Arseweb will report as soon as we get any confirmation.)

Initial reports suggested that the party consisted of president Sergio Cragnotti, his son Massimo, and FIFA agent Vincenzo Morabito - a statement later in the day said Cragnotti had been detained in Rome. It's perhaps unlikely that a deal could be signed without the President being present.

For those following the fluctuations of the Anelka fee, the price quoted by AFP this morning was $32.5m, which comes to a mere £20m. (Some sources at the weekend had it as low as £17m.)