Porto Price Mourinho Out of the Market

Jose Mourinho's first choice as cover for the long-term injury to Joe Cole will not join Chelsea after Porto gave a £14m valuation of their Portugal international forward Ricardo Quaresma.

Cole suffered knee-ligament damage during the pre-season tour to the US and a subsequent stress fracture to a foot bone means he is set to miss the balance of the season. Chelsea's injury problems up front were then compounded at Anfield on Saturday when the Holland international Arjen Robben limped off after 21 minutes.

But even those setbacks would require a complete transfer-market rethink at Chelsea for a bid of the magnitude that Porto, their opponents in the Champions League second round, would require to relinquish their star player.

The Premiership champions' chief executive, Peter Kenyon, stated last week that any purchases would have to fit into the club's long-term schemes, while providing value for money. That suggests the £14m fee will price even Chelsea out of the market.

Kenyon's statement has led many to observe that Mourinho's judgment in the transfer market is no longer trusted and the Portuguese's future at Stamford Bridge remains unclear. It is widely expected that the differences between Mourinho and the club's owner, Roman Abramovich, will lead to a parting of the ways in the close season.

Chelsea have had to contend with a deluge of speculation over their manager's future but the players insist that they have grown used to such scrutiny. Claude Makelele, Chelsea's France international midfielder, said: "I think that for two years we haven't had it easy. We've been winning titles but we've really been criticised. Everybody who was trailing us wanted absolutely that we lose. There were a lot of rivalries. But that's completely normal. That's the price of glory.

"We're all completely together in the dressing room. We're a super group. We have real solidarity and when there are difficult moments, when we end up being criticised, we know that the most important thing is to be positive and to go out and win matches and to stick together."

A six-point gap separates Chelsea from Manchester United at the top of the Premiership but tonight's Carling Cup semi-final, second leg against Wycombe Wanderers provides the club's earliest chance of silverware. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at the home of the League Two side but Chelsea expect more from the return.

"It's true we're going through a very difficult time," said Makelele, before adding: "We're second in the Premiership, in the Champions League, semi-final of the Carling Cup, in the FA Cup. So for Chelsea it's not that bad a period. We'll get back all the injured players, that's quite a few players and then we'll be competitive to fight until the end of the season for the title."