Duff On The Money

By Ade O`Connor
July 17 2003

Damien Duff brought a slice of prospective to his likely £17m move to Chelsea, commenting that the price tag was too high. Chelsea has money to burn now that they are under the ownership of Roman Abramovic and Duff is just one of many high profile targets across Europe.

Republic of Ireland star Damien Duff did not agree that any player should command such a fee on the market, however this is the way that football has gone. Duff is now in talks with Chelsea, after Blackburn Rovers and the Stamford Bridge club agreed a fee.

Should Duff join Chelsea, as looks likely, he will link up with Glen Johnson and Geremi, who have already signed. Also potentially on their way to the bridge are top stars such as Christian Vieri, Andrei Shevchenko and Edgar Davids.

The lure of Champions League football will also help convince Duff, after seeing the benefit the experience had on Irish team-mate John O`Shea of Manchester United.

Should the £17m deal be completed, it will be the most paid for an Irish player in history, eclipsing Robbie Keane’s move to Inter Milan.