June 8th
Friday, 08 Jun 2007 11:16
Geremi has underachieved at the Bridge
Chelsea are looking to trade up in the right-back department for next season.
The Blues are hot on the trail of England full-back
Micah Richards of Manchester City, but the newly-thrifty Stamford Bridge outfit could be scuppered by the player's pricetag of £25 million.
To tempt City to sell up however, Jose Mourinho is keen to offer current Chelsea man
Geremi in exchange.
The Cameroon man may be more keen to return to former club Middlesbrough as Gareth Southgate looks to build a sturdy defence around
Jonathan Woodgate.
If Chelsea fail in their chase for Richards, they may look towards Tottenham full-back
Pascal Chimbonda to fill the gap at right-back, which remains an Achilles heel of Mourinho's star-studded side.
Elsewhere Tottenham's
Wayne Routledge could be set to exchange White Hart Lane for Upton Park as Alan Curbishley's West Ham have offered £3 million for the midfielder.
His time at Spurs has been disappointing in that he has made few first-team appearances and feels the Hammers will offer him a better opportunity.
Middlesbrough, still reeling from the departure of star striker
Mark Viduka to local rivals Newcastle United, may look to Manchester United's
Alan Smith to fill the gap left by the Australian.
Smith is reportedly keen to get a genuine chance of starting for a Premiership side in his favoured forward position, rather than playing as a utility man in a highly-competitive United line-up.