Desailly has has declared his total commitment to Chelsea and his ambition to help them win the Premiership
At another time, that assertion would not be regarded as remarkable but in today's English game, when their is increasing talk of Foreign players showing a lack of loyalty, it will be recieved with relief at Stamford Bridge.
It is all the more noticeable because Desailly has been the constant subject of rumour since joining Chelsea for £4.6 million from AC Milan before the 1998 World Cup began .He was outstanding in those finals and since then Desailly has been linked with so many clubs that it seemed his career in England would be over within a year.
But Desailly has made it quite clear that he is staying and that will be a boost to Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli as he plote to end what he hopes was a temporary absence of trophys .Following triumphs in the FA Cup , League Cup, and the European Cup Winners Cup in successive campaigns, Chelsea failed to land any siverware in the season just finished.
Vialli is scouring Europe for reinforcements and has been linked with Marco Delvecchio and Luigi Di Baggio, of Roma and Ivan de La Pena of Lazio. There has even been talks of a move for French captain Didier Deschamps, who is leaving Jueventus and is a close friend of Desailly.
But no matter who Vialli manages to sign he is determined to improve his squad for the heavier demands of next season, which will include 17 matches in the Champions League for a team reaching the final.
Third place in the premiership has provided a golden opportunity for Chelsea to compete in the Champions League after what should be the formality of a qualifier and Desailly wants to be part of next seasons pursuit of honours.
"Look, I want to make it very clear that I am happy at Chelsea" said the man whose athleticsm and versatility has made him feel equally at home in central defence or midfield.
"The club are thriving and growing all the time
This year we were expecting to win something and it was a great dissapointment to all of us that that we failed to that, but we suffred badly through injuries to Pierluigi Casiraghi, Gustavo Poyet and Tore Andre Flo"
"Perhaps Manchester United and Arsenal have bigger squads than we had and that showed towards the end of the season, but we will be better next season, I am sure of that "
"We didn't play well in the last three or four home games and we did not show the quality of football that we can produce"
"We have a good chance of getting in to the later stages of the Champions League and everyone at the club is happy about that.
What we are looking to do now is to progress as a team.My aim is to help bring the Premiership title to Chelsea and help the club do well in Europe. So, yes, I am very happy and I feel I will be able to do even better next season"
The uncertainty surrounding Desailly was inspired by interest shown in him from Olypique Marseille and Roma.The French club was where he made his name while he has always been a admirer of Italian football and it's reliance on technique in contrast to the high-tempo approach in England
Desailly fuelled the rumours by talking of his feelings for Marseille and AC Milan but claimed that he was not trying to entice offers from his homeland or Serie A clubs
"That just isn't true" he said "I was asked about Marseille and Italy , Marseille will always be special to me because of the sucess I had there and all I said that if I ever returned to France , I would like it be Marseille.
"As for AC Milan and Italy, again I said the club means a lot , because I was at Milan when I went to the World Cup"
"But for a player to move clubs, four things have to happen, First , an offer has to be made, then the clubs have to agree a fee, then the player has to agree to the details, and finally he has to sign for the club.As for me , there hasn't even been a part one , so how can there be any prospect of me leaving Chelsea?.
"They are my club, I like the atmosphere in English football and it gives me a real good feeling when I see kids walking around in a club shirt with my name on the back, I have never expirienced anything like that before"
"I know Chelsea fans are very happy with the kind of football we are providing .
Now we want win some more trophies and I want to be part of that".
Steve Sammers
Evening Standard
11-6-99