Deco eyes Blues link-up

Portuguese playmaker Deco broke his silence to reveal Chelsea are openly courting him.

But the midfielder said nothing will be finalised until he has met officials at his current club, Barcelona.

He said: "I already knew about the interest from Chelsea, and other teams. I still need to speak to Barcelona.

"I knew that Barcelona wanted rid of me, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o. I have to respect the decision, move on and think about my own career."

Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, now coach at Inter Milan, reportedly wants to team his former Porto starlet up in midfield alongside Chelsea's Frank Lampard.

Instead, Deco could now end up being Lampard's replacement at Stamford Bridge, working under Luiz Felipe Scolari, who agreed to take the reins at the club a few weeks ago.

Chelsea have reportedly offered Deco a three-year deal worth £4.75m a year after tax, around 25 per cent more than he was earning at Camp Nou.

However, the asking price could still be a stumbling block with Deco hoping that Barça do not try and price him too highly and prevent him from being able to choose his next club.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.