Damien Duff to Chelski (1 Viewer)

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Chelsea complete Duff deal
Graeme Bailey - 21 Jul 2003 19:17

CHELSEA have completed the club record £17 million signing of Damien Duff from Blackburn Rovers.
The 24-year-old Irish international has penned a four-year deal at Stamford Bridge and The Blues unveiled him on their television station on Monday evening.

"It is brilliant for me," Duff told Chelsea TV.

"It was tough decision to leave Blackburn, but it is great to be here and I can't wait to get started."

He denied that he was ever looking to move to Manchester United, saying: "First and foremost the Man United stuff was speculation, and I have been down here three times now in the last week and it just feels right.

"It is a great challenge for me.

"I had a couple of days training with Blackburn, but I will soon know how fit I am when I get to Malaysia.

Speaking about the tag of being Chelsea's most expensive player of all time, he said: "It is a great honour me and my family and now I just have to do it on the pitch."

Duff is the fourth player to join Chelsea in the space of a week, after the arrivals of Geremi, Glen Johnson and Wayne Bridge.

New Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been true to his word about investing in the club, with the four new arrivals costing just short of £40 million.

 

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[BloodOnMoral]

oh i see
i liked damian duff during the 2002 WC, he is a good powerful midfielder and he could become a great player if he works hard. and he seems to have the potential to do it. anyway, chelsea is a proper team for him and i hope he'll manage ok

 

[mikhail]

As an Ireland fan, I've had the privalige of seeing Duff play first hand. I've also watched him take a mediocre Blackburn Rovers team and single-handedly dragg them by the scruff of the neck into the UEFA Cup. He's sparkled for the last couple of years, and it was only a matter of time before he was bought by a biggger club. He's Chelsea's record signing, and only Rio Ferdinand off all the British and Irish players ever has commanded a higher fee.

 

[BloodOnMoral]

as i said, i'm happy for him cuz at chelsea he has bigger opportunities than those he had in blackburn

 

[Martin]

mikhail, is he worth £17m?

 

[dpforever]

Chelsea are just spending like drunken sailors .. Duff himself denounced the transfer fee as 'stupid' .. Chelsea also spent £7m on Wayne Bridge even though they have a perfectly good left-back in Celestine Babayaro .. Graeme Le Saux could also play there, and did well last season ..

Question: What would happen to Chelsea if in 3 years time the Russian Billionare decided to quite and leave players with £150,000 per week contracts ??

 

[BloodOnMoral]

in my opinion (sorry if i'm telling something without being asked) he is . he is strong, fast, i dunno if you saw his sprints against spain in the 2002 WC, he is determined and a good penalty executer. he is a complete midfielder, just that he doesn't make too great crosses

 

[bongo10]

Duff is an excellent player he had a good world cup in 2002 and i hope he can do something good for Chelsea

 

[JuveCampione]

++ [ originally posted by dpforever ] ++

Question: What would happen to Chelsea if in 3 years time the Russian Billionare decided to quite and leave players with £150,000 per week contracts ??

they could go bankrupt.
you right, it's not safe to rely on a rich investor

 

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++ [ originally posted by dpforever ] ++

Question: What would happen to Chelsea if in 3 years time the Russian Billionare decided to quite and leave players with £150,000 per week contracts ??

Good point, I didn't think of it that way...he's obviously in it for the money, and if Cheslki don't start winning things in the next few years, he might abandon ship and then they'll be absolutely screwed. Imagine asking a player to quarter his wages...

 

[mikhail]

++ [ originally posted by Alex ] ++
mikhail, is he worth £17m?

I don't think anyone who doesn't have the marketing power of a Beckham or a Nakata is worth £17m.

On the other hand, if you want a northern European (and almost any other type of player is almost invariably a flop or a slow adapter in England) with that level of talent, you don't have any other options. Newcastle have made apoint of building their team from young Brits and Irishmen, and it's made them one of the top teams in England. Similarly the roots of Man Utds success is in Brits along with the then English record buy of Keane.

Chelsea have bought two Englishmen (talented young players) and a particularly talented young Irishman to build their new team around. It's a good buy for them, if fantastically expensive.