Jose Mourinho heads home to Portugal tomorrow for a high-profile friendly with Benfica needing to decide whether he should adjust his current transfer targets. Mourinho is rapidly finding out not even Roman Abramovich's wealth can get him everything he wants.
After failing in his attempts to sign Steven Gerrard from Liverpool and having two massive bids for Lyon midfielder Michael Essien turned down, the Chelsea boss has now hit a brick wall in his attempts to lure Shaun Wright-Phillips to Stamford Bridge.
Bolstered by the belief Wright-Phillips has no major desire to leave the club, Manchester City
It was a brave decision by a man whose club is £62million in debt but he backed up his words with actions by letting Wright-Phillips risk injury in a 45-minute appearance at Tranmere last night, the player having let acknowledgment of a bid pass straight over his head.
"I made him aware there was a bid, but he just passed it off and said `what time is kick-off'," said manager Stuart Pearce, who intends to play Wright-Phillips in today's friendly at Macclesfield and then to Thailand for next week's FA Premier League Asia Trophy.
"The kid wants to stay here," added Pearce. "He does not want to go anywhere, he wants to stay with me, the club and the supporters."
With Chelsea due to depart for their United States tour on Tuesday, time is running out for Mourinho to get Wright-Phillips on board, although the initial suggests are he will be back with an increased offer.
There is also a suggestion that Arsenal, having just sold Patrick Vieira to Juventus for £13.7million, could also enter the market. Gunners chief Arsene Wenger has stated his admiration of Wright-Phillips publicly and knows his club offers more sentimental attachment to the England man given the status his stepfather Ian Wright is afforded at Highbury.
chairman John Wardle almost instantly rejected a £20million offer from Chelsea last night and privately claimed it would take a significant increase in the bid just for it to be put to the 23-year-old for discussion.