Chelsea have signed George Weah from AC Milan on loan until the end of the season. The 1995 World Player of the Year has been out of favour at the San Siro this season and had also been linked with Marseille and Arsenal. Chelsea are hopeful he will make his debut against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge tomorrow night. But Weah will not be eligible for the Blues' Champions League campaign after representing Milan in an earlier round against Galatasaray.
Chelsea managing director Colin Hutchison is optimistic that the 33-year-old striker will be available for the match at Stamford Bridge against Spurs. But he added that Weah himself had wanted a move to increase his chances of regular football after finding himself out in the cold at Milan.
“George Weah wasn't featuring frequently and he wanted to play regularly,” said Hutchison. “Milan have just signed Jose Mari for £12million from Spain and clubs all over Europe have been trying to get George but, fortunately, we have pulled it off and he is with us until the end of the season. He can't play in the Champions League because he played for Milan in the match in Galatasaray. He is OK for League games. He is not eligible for the fourth round of the FA Cup but, if we beat Nottingham Forest, he will be available for the fifth round."
Weah missed the first five games of the Champions League - including two against his new team-mates - through suspension. The Liberian began his European career in 1988 at Monaco before moving to Paris St Germain and then joined Milan in 1995. The decision to move to Chelsea came after Milan's vice-president, Adriano Galliani, stated that the club would not agree to a move to another Italian club.
Meanwhile, George Graham has congratulated Chelsea for adding George Weah to their foreign legion - but insisted it was only a short-term solution to Gianluca Vialli's problems, and one that Graham would not go for himself. Graham's Tottenham team may face 33-year-old Weah on his debut for the Blues tomorrow night if he gets international clearance in time.
Graham said: “I'm not surprised that Weah has joined Chelsea until the end of the season because of their Italian connection. But it all depends if you want a quick fix. It is no secret that we are after strikers but we don't want a quick fix, we want one who is going to be with us. We are trying to build something here and so we are looking for younger players.”
Chelsea, for whom Graham was once a player, have been a bogey team for Spurs in recent seasons, but the Scot is hopeful that tomorrow night will signal a breakthrough. “You always want to beat the fancied teams,” said Graham. “We have beaten Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool this season and so Chelsea and Leeds are the other teams you want to do well against. They are the yardsticks and the fans are always looking at the quality Chelsea have got.
“I had two very happy years there as a player and I always enjoy going back there. Chelsea are a team who will be pushing for a Champions League or UEFA Cup place so, if we can stay ahead of them I think it means we will finish in the top six, no question.”
Graham has had a few extra days to get some of his players fit as Spurs were not involved in the FA Cup at the weekend, having been hammered 6-1 by Newcastle in their third round replay. “The players had the weekend off but I'd much rather have been involved in the FA Cup,” said Graham. “The disappointing thing is being out of all the cup competitions in the early stages, especially as we had an exceptional year last season by winning one and getting to the semi-final of another.”
Dutch winger Willem Korsten is hoping to make his debut for Spurs at Stamford Bridge following a long injury lay-off, and Darren Anderton could also return after being out for four months. But Spurs are still without Les Ferdinand, Oyvind Leonhardsen and Steffen Freund.
