Chelsea players ordered to forget about World Cup

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has ordered Shaun Wright-Phillips and the rest of his squad to forget about the 2006 World Cup or risk losing their place in the team.

One of the main questions surrounding Wright-Phillips' £21 million move to Stamford Bridge has been what effect it will have on his England prospects, should he struggle to get much playing time with his new club.

The former Manchester City player is adamant he will "let his football do the talking" in the intense competition for places at Stamford Bridge, and Mourinho has reminded his whole squad in no uncertain terms that Chelsea and not international considerations should be uppermost in their minds. "I told the players on the first day that all through the season they will have a lot of questions about the World Cup, and I told them if they think too much about the World Cup they are in danger because they don't play for Chelsea," the Portuguese said.

Asked what made Wright-Phillips a £21 million player, Mourinho bluntly stated: "Because the English market is crazy. That's why it's so difficult to buy English players from English clubs. He was £21 million because of what he did last season for his club and for his country."

Mourinho believes the 23-year-old has the versatility to fulfil a variety of roles for Chelsea.

"I like my wingers to play with a lot of freedom, in fact we have just finished a meeting where I was speaking about some tactical situations from the last game against Benfica, and I was speaking to (Damien) Duff, (Joe) Cole and (Arjen) Robben, so at the same time I was speaking to Shaun, and he could understand I like to give them freedom, but at the same time there are certain principles of our play that you cannot lose. But I think he is a very intelligent payer and he can adapt."

He added: "He's fast, he's creative, he has movement, he is dynamic, he can play on the right, he can play on the left, he can play wide, he can play inside."

Wright-Phillips, who along with the rest of Chelsea's squad is gearing up for the prestige friendly against AC Milan in Foxboro, Massachusetts, reiterated the reasons for moving south.

"It was the chance of a lifetime and not to have come to a club like Chelsea would have been silly. I can challenge for every trophy in England," he told the club's official website www.chelseafc.com.

Meanwhile, Lyon midfielder Michael Essien is convinced he will secure his dream move to Chelsea this summer - even though the French club are refusing to budge from an asking price of £32 million.

The 22-year-old Ghana international has been at the centre of fierce negotiations between the French and English champions in recent weeks.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas is now adamant that only a fee similar to what Chelsea were willing to pay for Liverpool's Steven Gerrard will be enough for the transfer to go ahead and insists time is running out for the London club.

An initial £17.4 million bid for Essien was turned down, prompting the Blues to increase their offer to £18.7 million, which was again rejected by Aulas during his face-to-face meeting with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon last week.

But Essien, currently in Asia with the rest of the Lyon team for the Peace Cup, remains in no doubt that he will be lining up in time for the Premiership kick-off early next month.

"I think the transfer will be made," Essien said. "I am convinced that I will go to Chelsea but in the meantime I am experiencing difficult times. I can't wait until everything is over."

Aulas has instructed Chelsea to either put up or shut up. "They must be fast now, I will be back in France on Thursday, it's been going on for too long," he said.

"If Chelsea want Michael, it's now or never. The price is fixed.

"That's £32 million or nothing. We will sell Michael at the price of Steven Gerrard.

"There will not be any other offer. But I don't think Chelsea will really spend the £32 million. If they were really ready to pay that much, they would have already done it."