Post by Greenday Everyday on Aug 7, 2006 10:51:09 GMT -1
Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo is set to sign a one-year loan deal with Inter Milan, BBC Sport understands.
The 31-year-old Argentine is willing to take a cut in wages in order to move to the Italian side.
Inter sporting director Marco Branca, a Chelsea representative, and Crespo and his agent Fernando Hidalgo will meet in Milan on Monday to finalise the move.
Crespo recently acquired Italian citizenship and has made no secret of his desire to return to Serie A.
The forward, who has played for Parma, Lazio, Inter Milan and AC Milan, still has a house in the town of Limido Comasco, on the outskirts of Milan.
Last week he said: "The fact is I love Italy. The money and success don't come into it.
"Italy is my natural environment, it is the place where I will live when I retire and it is the best place to play."
Crespo has also attracted interest from AC Milan, with whom he spent the 2004/05 season on loan from Chelsea.
He signed for the Blues in August 2003 for a fee of £16.8m.
But he failed to cement a place in the side and the arrival of Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan this summer seems to have made Crespo an even more peripheral figure at Stamford Bridge.
However, the departure of Crespo would leave Didier Drogba and Shevchenko as the only front-line strikers at Chelsea, which might lead manager Jose Mourinho into another foray into the transfer market.
He has actually signed a two year deal at Inter, contray to this report. And though I am no big lover of Italian football, the fact the player has wanted to move for his family, life style and love for Italy and not money makes a refreshing change for the upper echelons of European football. Fair play to you Herman.
The 31-year-old Argentine is willing to take a cut in wages in order to move to the Italian side.
Inter sporting director Marco Branca, a Chelsea representative, and Crespo and his agent Fernando Hidalgo will meet in Milan on Monday to finalise the move.
Crespo recently acquired Italian citizenship and has made no secret of his desire to return to Serie A.
The forward, who has played for Parma, Lazio, Inter Milan and AC Milan, still has a house in the town of Limido Comasco, on the outskirts of Milan.
Last week he said: "The fact is I love Italy. The money and success don't come into it.
"Italy is my natural environment, it is the place where I will live when I retire and it is the best place to play."
Crespo has also attracted interest from AC Milan, with whom he spent the 2004/05 season on loan from Chelsea.
He signed for the Blues in August 2003 for a fee of £16.8m.
But he failed to cement a place in the side and the arrival of Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan this summer seems to have made Crespo an even more peripheral figure at Stamford Bridge.
However, the departure of Crespo would leave Didier Drogba and Shevchenko as the only front-line strikers at Chelsea, which might lead manager Jose Mourinho into another foray into the transfer market.
He has actually signed a two year deal at Inter, contray to this report. And though I am no big lover of Italian football, the fact the player has wanted to move for his family, life style and love for Italy and not money makes a refreshing change for the upper echelons of European football. Fair play to you Herman.