Blues rule out Barthez
19 Oct 2006 - 08:25:28
Chelsea have ruled out a move for former France international goalkeeper Fabien Barthez to solve their goalkeeping injury crisis.
The Blues will be without Petr Cech for most, if not all, of the current campaign, while Carlo Cudicini is also recovering after being knocked unconscious during the 1-0 win at Reading last weekend.
However, after third-choice Henrique Hilario performed well in the 1-0 win over Barcelona, boss Jose Mourinho commented: "We have 50 agents calling us and, if they call us, they call the press.
"So Fabien Barthez is a name. There are a lot of names in the air. What I know is that Carlo and Hilario are very good goalkeepers and it is not easy for somebody to come and play in this team.
"Probably, what we have to try to get is a third goalkeeper and, of course, Fabien is not a preferred third goalkeeper. He is a high-profile goalkeeper.
"I prefer to think that now we have Hilario and Carlo, they are first options and we need somebody to give us security and replace Petr Cech in the group of keepers.
"That is the profile of the goalkeeper we are looking for."
