Gallas likely to stay, insists Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes want-away defender William Gallas will 'probably remain at Stamford Bridge this season.

Gallas, whose contract at the Blues expires in the summer of 2007, reiterated his desire to leave the club yesterday.

But Mourinho, speaking to L'Equipe.com, insists there have been no bids for the versatile defender and feels it will be for the good of Chelsea if Gallas stays put. 'He still has one year on his contract at Chelsea,' said the Portuguese coach.

'He is probably going to stay. 'I must defend the interests of Chelsea. 'For the first time in my career, I am ready to keep a player who doesn't want to stay although I know that won't be easy. 'I have already explained to Gallas that the club who wishes to buy him is a phantom club, one without a face.

He has still not had an clear offer - he is working in the dark. It encourages a player to adopt the wrong attitude. 'If by August 31, this invisible club doesn't become visible, if it does not stop its unethical behaviour and it does not make a serious, honest offer that meets the value of the player, he will end up staying.'

After Wednesday's friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina, in which Gallas scored in a 2-1 win for France, the 29-year-old defender said: 'I still want to leave Chelsea.' He added: 'I hope things will get sorted out quickly.'

In swallowing his pride by uttering his desire to keep Gallas, Mourinho must be desperate and he knows the current team is still "incomplete" and will be further depleted with the departure of Gallas. Chelsea is not under any pressure to sell players to raise money so it will be difficult for Gallas to leave without the consent of Mourinho.

Nevertheless, Mourinho's patience will be severely tested by the disgruntled Gallas if he affects team morale or throw in half-hearted performances. It will be interesting to see how Mourinho react to Gallas petulance and if he will allow his iron-fisted rule over the team to be challenged...

United won't be mugged on transfers

Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted Manchester United will not be taken for mugs in the transfer market.

They have plenty of targets but so far, Ferguson has brought only two new players to Old Trafford, paying £18.6million for Michael Carrick before completing the capture of West Brom keeper Tomasz Kuszczak on Thursday.

As Carrick is out for at least two or three weeks due to an injury, there is little doubt that Ferguson will need extra midfield cover, with Villarreal's Marcos Senna and Bayern Munich's England international Owen Hargreaves of interest.

Poor Ferguson is still trying to spin a story of United not spending the obsence amounts of money Chelsea have been splashing out, claiming it is now time for United to take a stand against clubs trying to milk them for every possible penny. 'I know this summer has been frustrating but there comes a point when you realise you can only take so much,' Ferguson told United Review.

'This close season has driven the point home even more that people are looking at Manchester United like a milch cow. 'Perhaps it is the cavalier amounts of money Chelsea have been spending which has upped the ante because the asking prices these days have soared to ridiculously high levels.

'It is as if the thinking is that if Chelsea can afford such and such, then we can expect Manchester United to pay through the nose as well. 'But it has got to the point where you can only take so much and I want to make it clear that we are not going to be taken for mugs.'

The statements seem ironical in the wake of the transfer deal for Carrick which many fans feel was overpriced while van Nistelrooy was sold off cheaply. Nevertheless, he has made a brave attempt to cover up for his failure to sign a world class striker. His target, Fernando Torres has an initial asking price in excess of £40million but Ferguson was unwilling to part with £25million for a player still relatively unproven.

The situation right now is to stick with Louis Saha and Wayne Rooney as his first-choice strikeforce, supplemented by fit-again Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Alan Smith - who should be available in a fortnight - and rising star Giuseppe Rossi, who will stay at Old Trafford this season after Ferguson previously toyed with the idea of sending him out on loan.

'Maybe we have to become stronger in our belief in our own players and trust in the quality of those we are continuing, as always, to bring through,' said Ferguson. 'We do not expect to get players on the cheap but at the same time, we have to stick to our values and make a stand.'

Too bad for Ferguson as beggars can't be choosers. Things may not be so bad though as there are always surprises in football and the highly rated teams don't always end up as champions, so for anti Man-United fans, they risk writing off United's chances at their own peril.