Quaresma ready to be called upon by Chelsea

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New Chelsea signing Ricardo Quaresma says he is determined to resurrect his career at Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese winger made a last-minute switch to west London as the winter transfer window slammed shut on Monday, having made just 13 appearances for Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan since joining from Porto last summer. After after a similarly unproductive spell at Barcelona earlier in his career, Quaresma is determined to make an impression in the Premier League. "You get criticism everywhere. Some people like you and some people don't. It is natural in life and in football," he said at his official unveiling on Friday. "I don't care about that. What I care about is working hard to show my qualities. These things happen in football. Players can't really prove or show anything if they don't have the opportunities to play. I'm very happy that I have that opportunity now."

The 25-year-old winger had seemed destined for another part of London as the transfer window neared its closure, with Chelsea's bitter rivals Tottenham on the verge of capturing Quaresma.

However, he revealed there was only one place he was heading once he'd heard of the Blues's interest.

"I heard from Mr Mourinho that Inter were thinking about loaning me to a club. When I heard about Chelsea I didn't think twice," he said.

"Chelsea was my first choice, especially when I heard [Luiz Felipe] Scolari was interested in me because I knew I would have an opportunity to show my game."

The Blues's newest recruit is set to make his debut on Saturday as Chelsea entertain Hull City at Stamford Bridge with, regular wingers, Joe Cole injured and Florent Malouda out of form.

And Quaresma, who becomes the sixth Portuguese player currently on Chelsea's books alongside Hilario, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Jose Bosingwa and Deco, is confident he can deliver the goods if called upon by, former Portugal national coach, Scolari.

"I'm confident I'm going to be on the pitch on Saturday and will show my game," he said. "I don't think I have to prove anything to anybody. All I think about is to work hard and show my best qualities on the pitch. I want to help Chelsea achieve their goals.

"I'm not unhappy or regretful that I went to Inter Milan. Things happen sometimes that you can't control. Each coach has their own options and ideas and you have to respect that. I don't like to dwell much on the past.

"I'm very happy to have this opportunity to come to one of the greatest clubs in the world."

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Gregg Davies
Gregg Davies

Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.