Gullit's vision
RUUD Gullit will continue his love affair with Chelsea until he wins the Premier League title - and his latest blockbuster signing to help achieve that goal may be Italian ace Alessandro Del Piero.
Gullit will be offered a new contract this summer regardless of Chelsea's result in tomorrow's FA Cup final against Middlesbrough and the Dutchman is only too eager to accept.
Speculation that he may leave for Feyenoord has proved to be unfounded and Gullit said: 'My feet are on the ground. I am not thinking of Wembley.
'My mind is on next season.
'I will only be happy when Chelsea win the Premier League title.
'In England, the cup final is a big thing and I can understand how romantic it is for everybody but for me the target is the league title.
'I took on this job to win the biggest prize of all.' Gullit, who adapted his playing contract and extended it by a year when he succeeded Glenn Hoddle as manager last summer will be offered another deal as soon as he returns from a post-final club tour and personal holiday.
'We have mentioned it but neither of us wants to talk about it until after the final,' said Ken Bates, the Chelsea chairman.
'He'll probably go on holiday then but we will talk to him when he comes back.' Although Gullit has been linked with a number of clubs including his former team AC Milan and boyhood favourites Feyenoord, Chelsea are confident the Dutchman will be staying.
Juventus ace Del Piero, with a price tag of over GBP10 million, is the sort of player Gullit is looking at to realise his title vision.
The Italian is also a target for Kenny Dalglish's Newcastle and Gullit can expect stiff competition for his signature.
Swaying the deal in the London club's favour is the fact that there is already an Italian contingent in Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo and former teammate Gianluca Vialli at Stamford Bridge.
Italian sports newspapers Tuttosport and Corriere Dello Sport both highlighted comments from Juve's honorary president Umberto Agnelli implying the European champions would sell the striker if the price were right.
'I hope that Del Piero . . . continues to play for Juventus,' Agnelli said.
'Certainly, if people are offering . . . GBP14 million for Del Piero the club has an obligation to examine the offers.' The 22-year-old has been injured for the last 10 weeks but he has been one of the key figures in the Juventus success story of the last three seasons.
He has helped them win the Italian title in 1995, the European Cup in 1996, lead the title race this season and reach the European Cup final again.
Agnelli's words carry weight as he speaks on behalf of the Agnelli family, the major shareholders in automobile giant FIAT who effectively own the Juventus club.
Until recently, most commentators had assumed Del Piero was certain to stay with Juventus.
If the club were to sell Del Piero, it would continue a tradition established in recent seasons during which they have off-loaded stars like Roberto Baggio to AC Milan, Vialli to Chelsea and Fabrizio Ravanelli to Middlesbrough.
