Crespo must go
HERNAN CRESPO’S time with Chelsea w i l l e n d i f t h e champions can find a buyer for him in the January transfer window. The Argentina striker is understood to have had a furious row with manager Jose Mourinho over selection issues and his refusal to travel to last Tuesday’s Champions League defeat at Real Betis.
He was omitted from the squad which suffered their first Premiership defeat of the season against Manchester United last Sunday and the fall- out from events of the last week has yet to be resolved.
An agent acting on behalf of Chelsea has already alerted Europe’s top clubs to Crespo’s availability, while enquiries are being made about buying a replacement. The club are certain to reignite their interest in Inter Milan’s Brazil striker Adriano. The disagreement between Mourinho and the player, who reluctantly returned from a loan spell at AC Milan last summer, flared when Crespo learned that Didier Drogba would not start the match against Betis in Seville seven days ago.
Having had his appearances limited to five starts in all competitions this season, 30-year- old Crespo is believed to have asked Mourinho if he would make his first start in the Champions League as a result of Drogba’s absence.
The manager would not confirm he would play and the three-goal striker insisted that he would not join the travelling party unless he was guaranteed a start. I n t h e e n d , E i d u r Gudjohnsen began the Betis match, which Chelsea lost 1-0.
Mourinho insisted that Crespo was injured but that did not stop him joining the Argentina squad yesterday in Geneva, where he is expected to face England in Saturday’s friendly.
The question of whether he will start a match for Chelsea again may also be answered by next weekend, when Chelsea face Newcastle without Drogba, who picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford and will be suspended for the match.
Mourinho must therefore choose between Crespo, Gudjohnsen or Carlton Cole to lead his attack — a selection which will go a long way to deciding the fate of the Argentina forward.
Crespo is still highly regarded in Italy where he excelled for Milan last season, scoring two goals in the Champions League Final against Liverpool.
Chelsea will balance their desire to sell the man for whom Claudio Ranieri paid Inter Milan £17million just over two years ago with the availability of a suitable replacement.
To that end, they are monitoring the situation concerning Inter and Adriano closely after a series of rows between the striker and coach Roberto Mancini which has thrown his future into doubt.
Mourinho covets Adriano above all other strikers in the world and it was only after failing to buy him last summer that he began moves to recall Crespo from his spell in exile.
The 22- year- old has been in poor form this season and had an acrimonious row with Mancini after he returned late from international duty in Brazil last month.
The breakdown of Adriano’s relationship with his childhood sweetheart is thought to be the cause of his erratic behaviour, but Inter would still demand a fee of around £40m for him. R o m a n A b r a m o v i c h i s unlikely to blink at that, especially as he was willing to pay Milan slightly more for Andriy Shevchenko — eight years Adriano’s senior — in the summer.
DIDIER DROGBA and
his Chelsea team- mate Michael Essien have been included on a shortlist of five for the African Footballer of the Year title.
Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o, who has won the accolade in successive years, Monaco’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Marouane Chamakh, from Bordeaux, complete the list.
The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Nigeria on January 9.
EVERTON are leading the
race for Tottenham’s
unsettled striker Robbie Keane (right). Keane has attracted interest from a number of Premiership clubs but Everton boss David Moyes, who tried to sign him in the summer, will make a bid in the January transfer window.
COLIN HENDRY
faces the sack at
Blackpool following the FA Cup defeat at Doncaster and his
side’s drop into
the bottom four
of League One
following just
one victory in
eight matches.