Chelsea end £7.5m move for Geremi

Chelsea have withdrawn their offer for Cameroon international full-back Geremi.

The club had reluctantly agreed to pay £7.5m to Real Madrid for the World Cup player they first tried to sign a year ago.

But the Board and Claudio Ranieri have decided that the Spanish club are being too greedy based on Geremi's under-par performance in Japan and Korea.

Real Madrid were shocked when they received a fax which simply stated Chelsea were no longer pursuing other options and Real started to encourage speculation that Chelsea could no longer afford the price.

That is not the case and Chelsea still have money to spend, but they are convinced that because football is in recession and the transfer market is as sluggish as it's ever been that buyers are in a stronger position than sellers.

Consequently, the Geremi deal will only be resurrected if Real dropped their price by half.

Chelsea have, however, signed goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini for a further five years. His contract was due to expire next year, but the 28-year-old from Milan is now tied to the club until 2007.

The Italian made 41 appearances and even enjoyed a run of conceding just one goal in eight matches. He saved three of four penalties he faced during the season, and is believed to be a strong contender for their player of the year award. He said: "Signing this contract, showsme they trust me. It was an easy decision. Since I came here three years ago it has been a good time for me. I like the club, I like the supporters, I like London."

Chelsea managing director Trevor Birch said: "Carlo's one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

"He should already be part of the Italian set-up."

Although Chelsea have tied up Cudicini, their only signing so far this summer is Enrique de Lucas.

But even his arrival is controversial as his club Espanol are demand compensation for his training costs, even though he is out of contract on 30 June.