Chelsea are furious over Italian press reports that Frank Lampard has agreed a four-year contract with Inter Milan.
But newspapers in Italy insist they have received unofficial confirmation from Inter owner Massimo Moratti, the suggestion being that Lampard will arrive once former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been confirmed as their new coach.
A well-placed insider claimed a deal has been agreed directly between Moratti and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and that Lampard will join for £8million, with a salary of £6m a season. "There is no substance to these claims," Lampard's agent Steve Kutner told the Daily Mail. "It's simply not true. I have an excellent relationship with Inter Milan, and indeed Massimo Moratti, after taking Paul Ince there. But I have had no conversations with them about this and I can't understand where this is coming from.
"After Frank has played in the final and then returned from England duty, he will go away with his family. And after that we will have a discussion about football and I will then go and talk to Peter Kenyon about football."