LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea have agreed a deal with Lokomotiv Moscow to sign Serbia defender Branislav Ivanovic.

The transfer is subject to the agreement of personal terms and the 23-year-old passing a medical, the Premier League club said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ivanovic, capped nine times, is a versatile defender whose displays for club and country over the last two years have attracted interest from some of Europe's top clubs.

He started his career in the centre of defence with amateur club Srem before moving to right back when he joined OFK Belgrade in 2003.

Injuries meant he eventually switched to centre back and his performances in that position prompted Lokomotiv to sign Ivanovic in 2006.

He has been outstanding in his time in Moscow and featured in the later stages of Serbia's unsuccessful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008.

Ivanovic, playing as an over-age player, also captained the Serbia side that finished runners-up to Netherlands in last year's European under-21 championship.

(Additional reporting by Zoran Milosavljevic, editing by Tony Jimenez)