Chelsea deny interest in Milan star

By European Football
July 27 2005

Chelsea have taken the unusual step of issuing a statement denying their interest in AC Milan striker Andrei Shevchenko. The statement reads:

"It is club policy not to comment on speculation linking Chelsea to players."

"However there are continuing, and totally incorrect, reports regarding Andrei Shevchenko that only serve to unnecessarily destabilise those players already at Chelsea.

"The club has made it quite clear that we are seeking to bring in one more player, and we have also made it clear that this will be a midfield player, if it happens.

"We are not seeking to sign a forward and we have total confidence in those we have."

This midfielder would of course be Lyon’s Essien, who Chelsea are hoping to land this week, despite Lyon being desperate to hang onto their star player.