<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3><DIV class=mxb><DIV class=sh>Chelsea deny Shevchenko reports </DIV></DIV></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV> <DIV class=cap>Shevchenko has struggled to fit into Chelsea's system</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Chelsea have denied reports that Andriy Shevchenko is ready to leave the club if manager Jose Mourinho decides he does not fit into his plans.
The 30-year-old, who signed for £30.8m in May, was quoted as saying his "game doesn't suit Mourinho" and he is "ready to pack his bags" and go back to Italy.
But a Chelsea statement insisted the comments were misinterpreted from an interview in a Russian magazine.
The Ukraine striker has been linked with a return to AC Milan.
Shevchenko was reported to have said: "I feel at home and it's felt like my team for a long time but unfortunately my game doesn't suit Mourinho.
"Roman Abramovich is my friend but all he could do was insist on a loan deal instead of me being sold," he said.
Shevchenko, who scored his first European goal for Chelsea in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League win over Levski Sofia, added he had not discussed his future with the club.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sib606><DIV class=sihf></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
"But if it happens, I am ready to pack my bags," he said. "I'm a completely self-confident person. If I don't suit somebody then I'll go back to Italy and prove how good I can still be."
Chelsea owner Abramovich lured the forward to Stamford Bridge on a four-year contract in May in the belief that he would provide the goals to win the Champions League.
Shevchenko is still considered a hero by AC Milan fans after he helped them win European club football's greatest prize in 2003.
However, the former European Footballer of the Year has yet to find the dazzling form that persuaded Chelsea to break the British transfer record. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The 30-year-old, who signed for £30.8m in May, was quoted as saying his "game doesn't suit Mourinho" and he is "ready to pack his bags" and go back to Italy.
But a Chelsea statement insisted the comments were misinterpreted from an interview in a Russian magazine.
The Ukraine striker has been linked with a return to AC Milan.
Shevchenko was reported to have said: "I feel at home and it's felt like my team for a long time but unfortunately my game doesn't suit Mourinho.
"Roman Abramovich is my friend but all he could do was insist on a loan deal instead of me being sold," he said.
Shevchenko, who scored his first European goal for Chelsea in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League win over Levski Sofia, added he had not discussed his future with the club.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sib606><DIV class=sihf></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
"But if it happens, I am ready to pack my bags," he said. "I'm a completely self-confident person. If I don't suit somebody then I'll go back to Italy and prove how good I can still be."
Chelsea owner Abramovich lured the forward to Stamford Bridge on a four-year contract in May in the belief that he would provide the goals to win the Champions League.
Shevchenko is still considered a hero by AC Milan fans after he helped them win European club football's greatest prize in 2003.
However, the former European Footballer of the Year has yet to find the dazzling form that persuaded Chelsea to break the British transfer record. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>