[misha]

William Gallas' future at Chelsea would appear to be in doubt as The Blues have confirmed he has not linked up with the squad on their pre-season tour of United States.

Gallas was informed by Blues officials that he would be required to join up with his team-mates at the start of August, but he did not make the trip.

Chelsea have insisted that the France international defender has acted against their wishes and could be subject to club sanctions at a later date.

"William Gallas will not be joining up with Chelsea FC on the pre-season tour of the United States," said the club in a statement on ChelseaTV.

"Gallas was due to join the team with the other Chelsea players who participated in the World Cup semi-finals and final.

"William requested extra time off following the World Cup but was informed he should still report to Los Angeles on the date previously agreed with him. He did not report and further action will now be considered by the club as a consequence.

"Pre-season training and the tour is about building team spirit among our squad and extra leave is only granted for valid football-related reasons.

"Discussions between Chelsea and William about a new contract are already well documented and ongoing. He has one year left on his current contract."

Gallas stated earlier in the summer that he wanted to move on from Stamford Bridge and it remains to be seen if he will figure in Jose Mourinho's plans in the new term.
skysports

This post has been edited by mishale: Aug 1 2006, 08:35 PM

[misha]

Arsenal or AC Milan for World Cup star?

So where will William Gallas play his football next season? It would seem that AC Milan, Arsenal or even Manchester United would be a more favoured option than his present club Chelsea, but of course Chelsea are in a financial position to make an example of the player even if they would lose him for nothing in a years time.Jose Mourinho has criticized Gallas after he failed to report for Chelsea's pre-season training earlier this week.

While the Chelsea squad have been training in Los Angeles since Monday Gallas did not show up and join the rest of the team, and it is exactly a secret that the 28-year old had requested a move away from Stamford Bridge earlier this year.

To add fuel to the fire the defender's number 13 shirt has been given to German midfielder Michael Ballack, which further increased speculation that the Frenchman will be leaving the club.

Mourinho reacted to the player's absence stating, ‘'everybody is upset because we had a strong family and a strong group and this has shown a lack of respect to everybody and I don't like that.''

''It's not only me that is upset - we're all upset,''

Pierre Frelot represents Gallas and issued a statement explaining the player's situation, he said, ‘'As far as we are concerned William's absence from training is still a misunderstanding.''

''I am surprised they haven't waited to hear the explanation of the player in person first before releasing a statement and taking action against him.''

The agent of course doesn't want to rock the boat, but Gallas would surely have Mourinho's mobile number and could have called to clarify any misunderstanding should he have wished to.

The whole thing would appear to surround Gallas' unwillingness to continue to cover at left-back when his preferred position is centre-back.

The simple solution would appear to be for Gallas to be part of the deal that may take Ashley Cole to Stamford Bridge as Arsenal could require some experience at centre-back considering the release of Sol Campbell.

However, Gallas has allegedly shown preference to try another League and it did seem that Italy (Juventus and AC Milan) would be his destination until the match-fixing scandal erupted.

Nevertheless, now that AC Milan has been re-introduced to the Champions League they may now be the favourites to sign him. Is it really a coincidence that their re-admission has coincided with Gallas not joining the Chelsea squad in the US?

Furthermore, Mourinho would not really like Gallas to go to an immediate competitor like Arsenal, or even Manchester United, but with money allegedly still to burn Sir Alex Ferguson would surely be interested should the defender become available, although he really needs reinforcements further forward.

However, considering the Ashley Cole situation Gallas would most likely move to Arsenal if he was to stay in this country. He has been linked with The Gunners on several occasions over the last few years and now most Arsenal fans are resigned to the fact Cole will probably leave, they will most likely be quite happy that another player is brought in to a position that they would appear to have less strength in than the one vacated by the England international.

Of course if Gallas has no wish to play for Arsenal then this could explain the delay in Cole being allowed to leave for Chelsea.

Arsene Wenger has stated that he will announce Cole in his squad, and probably the team, for the game against Croatia Zagreb next week, and this could force Mourinho's hand as the Chelsea boss would not want his perspective capture illegible from European football.

Many Arsenal fans have pinpointed Gallas as the perfect make-weight (plus loads of cash) for the Cole deal, and the next few days may throw some more light on the situation.

Strangely though, Mourinho (The Special One) may have missed out on a few important facts. Statistics show that when Gallas plays with John Terry at the centre of defence Chelsea concede fewer goals per game than when Terry is partnered by Ricardo Carvalho.

Admittedly the figures are quite low in either case, but they may provide an insight as to why Gallas is so disgruntled?
victorpredictor