Crespo could be Chelsea Euro assassin
Hernan Crespo is aiming to follow the lead of Fernando Morientes and deliver a fatal blow to his employers’ Champions League chances.
Argentina striker Crespo is on a season-long loan at AC Milan after Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho decided he was surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.
His goals for the Italian giants saw off Manchester United in the last 16, now the 29-year-old is hoping to be paired against Chelsea in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition when the draw is made next Friday.
Under international regulations, a season-long loan deal between countries is treated on a par with a permanent deal, something Real Madrid fell foul of a year ago when Morientes, now with Liverpool, scored in both legs of Monaco’s last-eight victory.
Crespo, who cost £16.8m (€24.1m) when he arrived in London from Inter Milan in the summer of 2003, could make his move to the San Siro permanent at the end of the campaign.
Crespo said yesterday: “I would like to meet Chelsea in the next round,” Crespo said. “It would be nice if it happened but I am not saying it because of revenge at all.
“I left with many fond memories back there but unfortunately at a social level I didn’t adapt. I think, having played so many years in Italy, it made it more difficult for me to adapt there.
“It was nevertheless an important experience in my life.”
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