Chelsea to block Mutu Juve move

Chelsea today reignited their row with Adrian Mutu by threatening to block his move to Juventus.

The Romanian striker, sacked by Chelsea in October after testing positive for cocaine, signed a five-year contract with the Italian club last night and could return to action in May following a seven-month drugs ban.

Juventus announced Mutu's signature as a free transfer as he is technically a free agent but Chelsea will demand a transfer fee to offset the loss of an asset valued at £13.7million. The club still hold the player's registration and it will not be released until after his claim for wrongful dismissal is heard by the Premier League, which is expected to be in the next 10 days.

Chelsea have taken a hardline approach to Mutu from the outset, sacking him before his Football Association disciplinary tribunal, criticising the FA's leniency in handing out a sevenmonth ban and immediately instructing lawyers to prepare a case for compensation. The club's resolve has not wavered and if they fail to extract a transfer fee from Juventus they could pursue compensation through the courts.

Although a figure of £13.7m has been written off the club's accounts Chelsea are determined to recoup some of the £15.8m they paid for Mutu, who has been training with Dinamo Bucharest in Romania to maintain his fitness.

A senior Chelsea source said: "Our position hasn't changed one iota. We definitely feel we deserve some compensation from the player or his new club. You don't just wave goodbye to a £13m asset and say so be it."