Chelsea defender Carvalho is prime target for Mourinho's Inter Milan - Sport - Evening Standard
       

Chelsea defender Carvalho is prime target for Mourinho's Inter Milan

Ricardo Carvalho has emerged as the Chelsea player most likely to join former manager Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.

The 30-year-old will open talks with Inter in the next few days regarding a £15million switch, following Portugal's exit from Euro 2008 on Thursday.

Deco, left, and Ricardo Carvalho, right, vie for the ball during a Portugal training session

Deco, left, and Ricardo Carvalho, right, vie for the ball during a Portugal training session

The Portuguese defender won the Champions League under Mourinho at Porto and is closer to him than to national team boss Luiz Felipe Scolari, who takes over at Chelsea on July 1.

Carvalho, who cost Chelsea £20m when he signed from Porto after Euro 2004, has been the only star to publicly criticise the club for sacking Avram Grant, and they have accepted it will be difficult to keep an unhappy player, albeit one who still has four years left on his contract. There has been speculation about Mourinho's interest in signing a number of his former Chelsea players, among them Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

But Drogba, who seemed to have fallen out of love with Chelsea last season, is believed to think his style might not suit the demands of Italian football. Lampard has agreed to hold talks with Scolari before deciding his future.

The England star has a year to run on his existing deal but he wants a new four-year contract.

Scolari has made Barcelona star Deco his No 1 target. Barca are demanding £10m for the Portugal playmaker.

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