New Rooney row

Chelsea and Everton were today caught in a furious row over England wonderkid Wayne Rooney.

Chelsea's acting chief executive Paul Smith suggested this morning they were interested in signing the 17-year-old striker, even though it could take £ 60million to bring him to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea later issued a statement denying that the teenager is a target, but Everton were angry at Smith's comments. Speaking this morning, Smith said that Rooney could be on their hitlist and that the club were not limited by a transfer budget.

He said: "There is no ceiling on what we will spend on any individual player. We will strengthen the team to achieve our targets. It's a question of getting the right individual to fit into the team.

"Claudio Ranieri is a big admirer of Wayne but there are no plans for Chelsea to pursue him at the moment. We are not ruling anything out or ruling anything in.

"There is a constant review of the playing squad and we are monitoring which players are available. We want to make sure the squad is covered for potential injuries and are putting together a list of players. Wayne could be on that list but there is no specific attention on him at the moment."

Smith later clarified his remarks, issuing a statement on the club website that read: "Like all people in football we think he (Wayne) is a big talent, but he is not a Chelsea target. We're only at the preliminary stages of identifying other potential signings for the January window - if there are any - but recent headlines do not represent the club's transfer policy."

Everton are angry that Chelsea have appeared to lend substance to speculation manager David Moyes dismissed as "laughable" today.