SOCCER NEWS:LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI begins life as Chelsea's manager this morning having secured his first signing. The Champions League finalists yesterday completed the purchase of Barcelona midfielder Deco on a two-year contract.
The 30-year-old has followed his Portugal manager to west London in a €10 million deal which may yet have an effect on Frank Lampard's future at Stamford Bridge. The England midfielder is on holiday in Italy but with only a year to run on his contract he has been courted by Chelsea's former manager, Jose Mourinho, who is now at Internazionale. Deco's arrival appears to threaten Lampard's place in the team.
The Premier League club had been unsure whether Deco, who was below par in a Barcelona side well adrift of Real Madrid last season, represented value for money but they were persuaded by his fine form at Euro 2008. The midfielder was a key member of Scolari's squad in Austria and Switzerland as Portugal reached the quarter-finals and has long been viewed as the coach's on-pitch lieutenant.
"I am sure I have come (to Chelsea) at the right time to do great things and be able to help Chelsea go back to the way it was and be first, not only in England but also to win the Champions League," said Deco. "That has been their dream for so long. The Premier League is a great league and it is getting better. You could see that at the Champions League final where you had two English teams.
"It is great that we have so many great players here at Chelsea and it is great that there is the competition which is healthy for everybody. This just makes the team better. To have great players in any position just enhances the club. I know it is a new challenge but I am looking forward to it. I know I need a little bit of time to adapt but I am sure I will adapt quite well and quite fast and do my best for the team."
The Brazilian-born midfielder is a two-times European Cup winner, with Porto in 2004 and Barcelona in 2006, who came close to moving to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004. He fell out of favour towards the end of Frank Rijkaard's reign at Barcelona.
His vision and ability will be appreciated in the Premier League, with the creativity that was a key factor for Scolari's Portugal team. He joins his national team-mate Jose Bosingwa, a €20 million arrival from Porto, at Chelsea and his signature is a small victory for the club over Mourinho. The Inter manager had hoped to be reunited with a player he first coached at Porto, where Deco earned the nickname "Magico".
Scolari supplied a list of potential signings to the Chelsea chief executive, Peter Kenyon. It was topped by Milan's Kaka. Scolari would still like to meet the likes of Lampard and Ricardo Carvalho to discuss their prospects at the club. Inter have expressed interest in both players.
Chelsea's first-team squad are due back at training next Monday. Chelsea had wanted to keep Lampard but they are aware that, though there has been no formal contact between the clubs, Inter have made their interest known.
Carvalho's future in west London has also, potentially, been complicated by Mourinho's appointment at Inter. Chelsea had intended to open discussions with the player on a new contract when he returned for pre-season training. Asked about his future, the Portugal defender was noncommittal.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur intend to step up their interest in the England winger David Bentley by tabling an improved offer for the Blackburn Rovers midfielder.
Having seen an initial offer that included Aaron Lennon as a makeweight in a deal rejected by Blackburn, Spurs will press ahead with an improved bid for the 23-year-old. The winger met the Blackburn manager, Paul Ince, for talks over the weekend and reiterated his desire to play for a club involved in European competition with his England future in mind. Guardian Service
