Wayne Bridge will this weekend finalise his move to Chelsea - with Graeme Le Saux set for St Mary's in a £7m deal.

The 22-year-old Bridge has admitted for the first time that the deciding factor in his decision to move was the chance to play Champions League football, something he believes will strengthen his chances of superseding Ashley Cole as England's first choice left-back.

A source close to Saints told the Daily Echo that agreeing the deal was dependent on also getting Chelsea's former England international Le Saux in a two-year deal on top of an expected £7m fee.

The 34-year-old, worth £500,000, flew back from the Blues' pre-season tour of Italy yesterday to discuss personal terms.

Saints had last week turned down a bid of £6m for their star player, but Bridge, whose last game for Saints looks like being the FA Cup against Arsenal in May, made it clear he wanted to move and has handed in a transfer request.

The close proximity of Chelsea was said to be an important factor in the decision as Bridge is a lifelong Saints fan who was born in Southampton and currently lives in Winchester.

The player will now return from Saints' pre-season training camp in Scotland to finalise personal terms with Chelsea, believed to include a three-fold increase in his current salary.

Saints chairman Rupert Lowe said: "It is the players that make the decisions these days. You can't really fight it if a player decides he wants to leave.

"Wayne Bridge has put in a transfer request and that obviously says to me that he doesn't want to stay with us.

"If we stopped him from talking to Chelsea the goodwill would be lost and we wouldn't want that situation. Sometimes you are better off taking the money, moving on and investing in new players as we have done in the past with remarkable success."

Billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been chasing Bridge for the past week, but talks have reportedly been delayed while Saints turned down two bids and searched for a replacement.

Le Saux can play either left-back or left-midfield and his involvement in the deal could allow Bridge to join Chelsea in time for their pre-season tournament in Malaysia on Monday.

Saints set off to Sweden for their pre-season tour on Tuesday with Antti Niemi joining Darren Kenton and Claus Lundekvam on the casualty list after yesterday being ruled out with a knee injury.