Chelsea demand £2m for Wise

Dennis Wise has been targeted by Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and West Ham - but it will cost £2 million to take the 34-year-old Chelsea captain away from Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea will today try to persuade Wise not to go ahead with his threat (made in the red top tabloid newspaper with which he has a contract) to hand in a tranfer request.

The England international is said to be disillusioned with life at Stamford Bridge under new manager Claudio Ranieri.

Blackburn's interest could encourage him to hand in his request for a move.

Graeme Souness' side are currently fourth in the First Division table and the manager believes Wise could help them secure automatic promotion rather than a place in the play-offs.

West Ham manager Harry Redknapp, who is carefully watching the situation at Stamford Bridge, would also be keen to take Wise to Upton Park.

Redknapp believes a mid-field of Wise, plus youngsters Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick and Joe Cole would be an exciting prospect and is ready to compete with other interested clubs if the midfielder becomes available.

Manchester City will signal their interest in Wise if, as expected, they fail to lure Steve Lomas away from West Ham. They have bid £3.5m for him but he does not want to leave Upton Park.

City believe a ball-winning midfielder is exactly what they need to keep them in the Premiership,

Chelsea managing director Colin Hutchinson said today that Wise has a playing contract unitl 2003 plus the guarantee of a two-year coaching deal at Chelsea when he finishes as a player.

Hutchinson said: "That shows how much we want to keep him here but I do not know for certain what will happen at this stage. He is part of Chelsea. I want him to stay and so does the manager. But we will just have to see what happens now."

French World Cup defender Frank Leboeuf and on-loan Italian Christian Panucci are both poised to leave Chelsea for Monaco.