I'm not worth Â£17m, says Duff

14 April 2012

Damien Duff believes £17million is an absurd price to pay for any footballer - especially him.

The Blackburn winger, who is about to become Chelsea's record signing, says the fee represents "a ridiculous price on my head" and is amazed anyone agreed to pay it.

Duff had a release clause in his contract allowing him to move if a club bid £17m, but he said: "It is a stupid price with the way the game has gone. But at the end of the day, it is all about money with football directors."

Duff 's advisers are today thrashing out the details of his prospective move to Stamford Bridge, where he will become the most expensive purchase, so far, in Roman Abramovich's brief tenure as Chelsea owner.

His emerging talent contrasts with some of the more illustrious names linked with Chelsea of late. Although he shot to prominence with the Republic of Ireland in last summer's World Cup, he has had a fitful career at Blackburn since emerging as a nervous 19-year-old under Roy Hodgson.

Last season he was named the club's player of the year after scoring 11 goals as Graeme Souness's side secured a UEFA Cup place for finishing sixth in the Premiership.

Tagged the Republic of Ireland's George Best, he admits to suffering lapses in form. "I did go through the horrors for club and country for a while," he said. "I am a better player for the experience and for the fact Mick McCarthy and Graeme Souness stuck by me. But it was bad for a while."

So bad that his international manager at the time, McCarthy, said he "fell off the Richter scale". Duff admits to " losing confidence" but says he is "not as gung-ho" as he used to be.

At 24, he was Blackburn's longest-serving player. Now he looks set to find a new stage for his talent and, clearly, the lure of Champions League football is drawing him to London.

"Everyone wants to play in the Champions League," he said. "Just look at how much you can learn. Josh (Manchester-United's John O'Shea) has played 20-odd games in the Champions League and it has improved him enormously."

Duff, talent-spotted by Blackburn's man in Ireland at age 12, remains close to his Irish team-mates. Earlier this summer he sparked a major air and sea rescue when he went for a swim at the international team's Portmarnock hotel.

Duff is still embarrassed about the incident, and with good reason, as one backroom member of the Irish squad explained. "Damien injured his hamstring against Albania on the first Saturday-in June and was desperate to play against Georgia the following Wednesday night," he revealed.

"He took up the suggestion that he wade his leg in the Irish Sea to quicken the healing. So Damien got out of bed early on the Tuesday and walked out as far as the tide would let him.

"He spent about 15 minutes in the water, went back to the hotel and back to his bed. He was asleep when all hell broke loose, with a helicopter looking for a drowning man. Apparently someone who lives close to the hotel saw a young man walk into the sea and rang the police to alert them to a suicide bid.

"They pulled out all the stops, only to discover the 'suicide bid' was made by the biggest name in the Irish soccer squad who was, by then, fast asleep."

He will have to get used to even more of the limelight at Chelsea. New Irish manager Brian Kerr is convinced he will cope. "All he wants is to play football. When you see how he prepares, how he trains, how he wants to spend all his time with the ball at his feet, you realise how strong a character he is."

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