Chelsea target Portuguese midfielder

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon admits the club are considering a move for Portuguese midfielder Tiago.

The 23-year-old Benfica player is a fringe member of Portugal’s Euro 2004 squad and attention has turned to him with Chelsea’s relationship with newly-crowned European champions Porto now looking to be strained after first manager Jose Mourinho and then full-back Paulo Ferreira were snapped up by the big-spending Londoners.

Kenyon confirmed to O Jogo that Tiago was a possible target, saying: “In the position he plays Tiago has been identified as one of three possible solutions to Chelsea’s needs.

“Tiago is one of three possibilities.”

On Sunday Porto president Jorge Pinto da Costa blasted Blues owner Roman Abramovich and said that he wished Mourinho had instead joined an Italian club in an apparent sign of a breakdown in relations between the clubs.

Chelsea had been keen on recruiting playmaker Deco and defensive midfielder Costinha from the Dragons.