Soccer: Chelsea yesterday admitted defeat in their attempts to buy Christian Vieri from Internazionale and will now try to secure the services of another striker from a short list that includes Mark Viduka.
The Leeds striker, who yesterday pulled out of his club's tour to Dublin citing a sore ankle, is under consideration in a group which includes Auxerre's Djibril Cisse, Real Mallorca's Samuel Eto'o and Parma's Adrian Mutu.
Chelsea's coach, Claudio Ranieri, all but accepted that he will not land Vieri when he said: "I think Christian Vieri's staying with Inter." The Italian club issued a statement which insisted the striker will remain at San Siro next season.
Ranieri would have little difficulty in convincing Viduka to move to Stamford Bridge. The 27-year-old is disillusioned at Leeds after seeing high-profile players such as Harry Kewell and Jonathan Woodgate leave the club.
Peter Reid would be willing to sell the Australian provided the fee is substantial enough to compensate for bonuses worth £1 million which Viduka is owed for the three years remaining on his contract. Reid is furious that Viduka has not travelled to Ireland and said: "Obviously I'm disappointed but that's all I'm prepared to say at the moment."
Prising Cisse from Auxerre could be difficult for Chelsea because the French club's coach, Guy Roux, has threatened to quit if a striker is sold and has an understanding with his friend Gerard Houllier, the Liverpool manager, that Cisse will move to Anfield next summer.
Eto'o, once valued at around £12 million, could be available for around £7 million because of financial problems at Mallorca. Although only 22 he has been to two World Cups with Cameroon. Tentative talks with Chelsea were held after Mallorca's friendly at Bolton on Wednesday night.
As Chelsea seek to sign a striker, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink could be on his way out on a free to Real Betis. "We need a goalscorer," said the Betis coach Victor Fernandez. "I'm sure he will come to Seville if we can arrange the financial terms of the deal."
Yesterday Chelsea paraded their two latest signings, Joe Cole and Juan Sebastian Veron. Ranieri described Veron as "the best midfielder in the world" and is confident the Argentinian will produce better performances for Chelsea than during two inconsistent seasons at Manchester United. Many regard Veron's £15 million signing as a risk - or as much of a risk as anything can be with Roman Abramovich's millions - but Ranieri rejected such thoughts. When it was put to him that Veron had rarely shone in the Premiership, he looked on the bright side.
"I didn't see Sebastian in all the matches," he said. "For me he's a top-class player and I'm sure he will play better with Chelsea. Why? I don't know. It's a feeling." Veron seemed mildly embarrassed to be called the world's finest midfielder, saying his coach was "exaggerating a bit". Yet the 28-year-old made clear that such appreciation will spur him to deliver what Chelsea expect for their money. He believes the English public has not seen him at his best.
"There is much more to come from my performances," he said. "So far they have been ordinary. I played good games, bad games and excellent games (for United) but no continuity. I feel motivated to respond to all the people at Chelsea who have shown so much confidence in me." He also stressed that he performs best in a central role.
Though Veron feels the foundations are in place at Chelsea to match United, until recently he had not envisaged leaving Old Trafford. He said that Alex Ferguson had insisted two months ago that he should stay when clubs showed an interest. "But over the last few weeks," he said, "their attitude about me changed."
Sitting alongside Veron was Joe Cole, and Ranieri said he has no doubts they can fit into the same midfield. He called leaving West Ham "probably the hardest decision" of his life but said it would have been time to move on even if the club had not been relegated. Uppermost in his mind is establishing himself as an England regular.
Cole has no concerns about dealing with the high expectation. "I have been dealing with expectation since I was 17 or younger, when I got into the first team at West Ham," he said. "People expect me to do amazing things every time I get the ball."
Meanwhile, veteran Newcastle midfielder Gary Speed has signed a one-year extension to his contract at St James' Park while Sean Davis has rocked Fulham's pre-season preparations by handing in a transfer request because he feels that the west London club lack ambition.
Guardian Service
