Sky Italia are reporting that the 26-year-old Colombian is still in Italy but due to fly to London on a private jet on Saturday morning at 7am for talks and a medical at Stamford Bridge.
Fiorentina are expected to receive £23.33m plus a bonus that amounts to Cuadrado's £26.34m release clause with Chelsea's out-of-favour forward Mohamed Salah moving on loan in the opposite direction.
When asked about Cuadrado's potential move to the Premier League leaders, Montella told his club's website on Friday: "It was a sale that had to be done. The club has done the right thing because we are also getting a very good player.
"From a defensive standpoint, Cuadrado guarantees us a lot more than Salah. Cuadrado is a player that has always arrived with a smile and given everything to Fiorentina."Naturally, we need to understand how long Salah will need to adapt to our football as it's different from the English and Swiss leagues.
"I am convinced that if he could have played tomorrow he would have. I'm happy for him because he is going to a big club."
On whether Fiorentina have been weakened by the deal: "We’ve lost a top player but I see similar characteristics in Salah. I don’t think it’s a step backwards."
Cuadrado, viewed by Chelsea as a replacement for forward Andre Schurrle who's closing on a move to Wolfsburg, joined Fiorentina in 2012 from Udinese and has been a regular in Montella's side since.
The Colombian has scored four goals and set up four more in 17 league appearances for the Serie A side this season.
He was one of the stand-out players alongside James Rodriguez for Colombia in last year's World Cup in Brazil and was tied to the Viola until June 2019.
culled from skysport
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