CHELSEA have denied making a bid for Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o despite claims from the Cameroon international he has received offers from the Stamford Bridge club, Tottenham Hotspur and Internazionale.
The 27-year-old – who is in St Andrews with Barcelona ahead of friendlies against Hibs tomorrow and Dundee United on Saturday – despite being informed by new manager Pep Guardiola he will be allowed to leave, told Corriere dello Sport this week he ha
s received a "few important offers. Which ones? Chelsea, Tottenham and Inter."
But Chelsea sources, who are currently in China as part of the Champions League finalists' pre-season tour under new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, refuted the claims. A club spokesman said: "We deny making a bid or any offer for Eto'o."
Eto'o's agent, Jose Maria Mesalles, also refused to rule out the possibility of the former Real Mallorca striker remaining at the Nou Camp despite speculation over his future.
While Eto'o's future remains unclear, Barcelona yesterday signed Brazilian defender Henrique. The player, whose full name is Henrique Adriano Buss, arrived at the Nou Camp to undergo a routine medical and complete an 8 million transfer from Brazilian club Palmeiras.
Henrique will join on a five-year deal which could cost the Catalan club a further 2 million dependent on incentives, although it is understood that the 21-year-old will initially be loaned out to German club Bayer Leverkusen. Henrique is Barcelona's sixth signing, taking the club's summer spending to nearly 88 million.
On the way out of Barcelona, meanwhile, is defender Oleguer Presas, who has agreed a switch to Ajax in the Netherlands.
On a busy day of business for the La Liga giants, Barcelona confirmed that they will receive 3 million for Presas, with a possible additional 2.25 million depending on Ajax's performances in the Champions League over the next three years.
The deal is dependent on negotiations between Ajax and Oleguer, who is in Amsterdam for routine medical tests.
Oleguer, who scored one goal in 167 games for Barcelona, made his debut in 2003 after joining the youth academy two years earlier. He only made 15 appearances last season, but was a regular as Barcelona won two Spanish league titles and the Champions League from 2004-06.
Barcelona are in the process of rebuilding their squad after failing to win a trophy for the past two seasons.
They have sold Ronaldinho to AC Milan and brought in Martin Caceres, Gerard Pique and Daniel Alves to bolster their defence and Alexander Hleb and Seydou Keita to strengthen the midfield.
The full article contains 436 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
