Ajax coach Henk ten Cate has been given the green light to move to Chelsea after the Dutch side confirmed they had reached an agreement with the Blues about the 52-year-old's future.

It has been reported that the former assistant to Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard is Avram Grant's first choice to work with him at Stamford Bridge.

A brief statement on the Amsterdam-based side's official website read: "In talks with Chelsea, Ajax have reached agreement with the English club about the immediate transfer of Henk ten Cate to the London-based side.

"After being approached by Chelsea, Henk ten Cate asked the Ajax management last week permission to start negotiations with the Premier League side. After internal deliberations, Ajax granted permission.

"It is now up to Chelsea and Henk ten Cate to finalise the deal together. Ajax do not expect this to take much time."

Ten Cate has had a long coaching career in his homeland, taking charge of Go Ahead Eagles, SC Heracles, Sparta Rotterdam, NAC Breda and Vitesse Arnhem.

He also spent the 1999-2000 campaign coaching Hungarian side MTK Hungaria before teaming up with Rijkaard at Barcelona in 2003.

He left the Camp Nou last year to replace Danny Blind as Ajax manager.

He leaves the club second in the Dutch Eredivisie, one point behind leaders Feyenoord after seven games of the season.

Ajax could only draw 2-2 at Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday though and crashed out of the UEFA Cup last week when they were beaten by Dinamo Zagreb.