Laudrup to leave

In another demonstration of the player power beginning to dominate the game, Brian Laudrup is to leave Chelsea and move back to Denmark after only three months at Stamford Bridge.

The 29-year-old homesick forward has probably played his last game for Chelsea as the club waits for an acceptable offer for the player they signed on a free transfer from Rangers in the summer on a three-year contract for a reported £50,000 a week.

FC Copenhagen, whom Chelsea play in a Cup Winners' Cup second round, second-leg tie on Thursday, are favourites to sign Laudrup, having already made an offer to take him on loan until the end of the season. Laudrup's father is Copenhagen's head of merchandising.

Laudrup said he did not know when he might leave, but discussions with Copenhagen would resume once Thursday's game had been played. Chelsea will insist that Laudrup cannot move to a non-Danish club without their permission.

At a hastily called press conference yesterday Laudrup said he had become homesick a year ago while still at Rangers. This begs the question of why he then joined Chelsea instead of FC Copenhagen, who wanted him at the time.

Yesterday Laudrup said: "What use is money if you are not happy as a private person? Every time I've been home I've wanted to stay a little long. That is where my friends and family are. My wife is 500 per cent behind me." He denied reports that his family had problems settling in London.

Though Laudrup has been openly critical of the manager Gianluca Vialli's system of rotating his strikers, the Dane also denied that this was a factor in his decision to quit.

"I had approaches to go to various clubs, including FC Copenhagen, in the summer but I was attracted by the challenge of playing in the Premiership and living in a new country. But now I realise I've got to the stage in my life when I want to go back to my roots."

Colin Hutchinson, Chelsea's managing director, has been talking to Laudrup for seven weeks, trying to persuade him to stay and even offering to let him train part of the week in Denmark.

"We have done everything we can to keep him," Hutchinson said. "We've worked non-stop to make Brian and his family as happy as possible in London, but he's a very strong-minded guy and he wants to return to Denmark." Hutchinson said that Copenhagen's loan offer had been rejected, but he did not rule it out in the future. Nothing will be done before Thursday but it is understood that the Danish club are willing to offer Laudrup a three-year deal as a player followed by a seven-year contract as general manager.

Trading in FC Copenhagen shares was suspended briefly on the local Stock Exchange following reports of his possible transfer. Shares soared 14 per cent.

The effect of Laudrup's move on Chelsea's grand plan is more difficult to assess. While he is undoubtedly the sort of world-class foreign player that has become a trademark at Stamford Bridge, his contribution in the 10 games he has played (seven starts, plus three games as a substitute) has been disappointing.

He is yet to score and there have been criticisms that his game is too similar to Gianfranco Zola's. Vialli must now decide whether to pick a player who wants to leave.

Dion Dublin last night turned down a £6.75-million move to Blackburn - meaning Aston Villa and Newcastle are in a two-horse race to capture his signature.

Rovers boss Roy Hodgson had warned the Coventry striker that he was not prepared to break the club's wage structure to bring him to Ewood Park and now Dublin has rejected a move to Blackburn.

His agent Struan Marshall said: "They made us a good offer but Dion has decided he doesn't want to go to Blackburn and that's where it's at."

Marshall also criticised Coventry's decision not to allow his client to speak to clubs other than Blackburn.