Chelsea look set to win their fight to keep Frank Lampard after former manager Jose Mourinho claimed he won't be able to bring the midfielder to Inter Milan until next year.

Lampard was expected to leave after Chelsea completed the £7.9million signing of Deco from Barcelona last night, but Mourinho believes the midfielder is staying at Stamford Bridge.

The England international has just one year left on his current deal and Mourinho insists Chelsea will keep him for another 12 months before releasing him on a free transfer.

When asked if Inter will sign Lampard, he said: "This season? I don't think so. Why won't he? Well, it's not because we don't want him to, but I'm sure Chelsea and Chelsea's officials don't want to sell him.

"However for the next season it will be easier for him to join me at Inter. I'm 100 per cent sure in 2009/2010 he will be playing here."

Lampard is yet to have any talks over his Chelsea future and is due to return from his holiday in Sicily later this week, when he will meet with new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, who officially starts work at Stamford Bridge today.

Deco, who has signed a two-year deal, believes there is room for both him and Lampard at the club. When asked about the prospect of playing with the England international, Michael Ballack and Joe Cole, the 30-year-old Portugal star told Chelsea TV: "It's good that we have so many fantastic players here at Chelsea and that there is so much competition, which is very healthy for all the players.

"To have great players in every position just enhances the team and makes it better. "We all know the Premier League is a great league and it's just getting better and better.

"This was shown by the Champions League Final, where you had two English teams, so I think for me it's a new challenge and I'm looking forward to it.

"I know I need a little bit of time to adapt to it, but I'm sure I will adapt quite well and quite fast and do my best for the team."