Chelsea deal helps Croatian club avoid bankruptcy

Croatian club Inter Zapresic have saved themselves from bankruptcy by agreeing an option-to-buy deal with Chelsea for teenage goalkeeper Matej Delac, they said on Friday.

No financial details were given but Inter said that under the agreement Chelsea would have the option to buy the 17-year-old for the next three years and the keeper would attend training sessions in London during the off-season.

"This (deal) has saved us from bankruptcy and owing to it we'll soon be able to pay our players the salaries the club owes them since June," Inter director Branko Laljak told local newspaper Vecernji List.

Inter confirmed on their website (www.inter.hr) that they had agreed a deal with Chelsea, while a spokesman for the English Premier League club said: "We have agreed an option to buy him but it won't kick in for a couple of seasons."

Inter are 11th in the 16-team Croatian championship.