Saturday 18 August 2012

Di Matteo vows Blues won’t be held to ransom

Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo insists his club won’t be forced to pay over the odds by rivals looking to take
advantage of billionaire owner
Roman Abramovich.
Di Matteo had hoped to sign
Wigan forward Victor Moses in
time for this weekend’s opening
round of Premier League
matches, but instead the
Nigerian will line up against the
European champions when they
travel to the DW Stadium on
Sunday.
Wigan owner Dave Whelan has
angered Chelsea by talking
publicly about their negotiations
over Moses in a bid to drive up
the 21-year-old’s transfer fee.
Whelan claims Chelsea may lose
Moses to a rival bidder unless
they stop messing about, but Di
Matteo, who has also been
frustrated in his attempts to sign
Porto forward Hulk and Marseille
right-back Cesar Azpilicueta, is
adamant Abramovich won’t be
held to ransom.
The Russian has already
sanctioned £60 million ($94.1m)
worth of spending on Eden
Hazard, Oscar and Marko Marin
since the end of last season, but
he won’t let other clubs take
advantage of his desire to
rebuild Di Matteo’s squad.
“I think that goes for many
teams, not just for us. We’re not
going to pay over the top,” Di
Matteo said on Friday.
“What we think is the real value
for a player, we have paid.”
Di Matteo also refused to be
drawn on any developments in
Chelsea’s interest in Moses, Hulk
and Azpilicueta, saying, “There
won’t be anybody coming in for
Sunday.”
Moses may not relish the
prospect of playing against a
club he could be joining before
the transfer window closes on
August 31, but Di Matteo knows
Chelsea’s defenders will still have
to keep a close eye on their
potential signing.
“We’ve played against him before
– we know very well what ability
he has,” he said. “He’s a young,
talented guy… that plays for
Wigan.”

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