Bruce Thanks Ranieri

Last updated : 27 November 2003 By Brian Cartlidge

Forssell's season long loan deal has been the subject of numerous will he/won't he stories since he joined the Blues three months ago but following his decision to stay at St. Andrew's for the remainder of this season, at least, Bruce offered his thanks to his Chelsea counterpart for allowing the deal to go ahead.

"We're all staggered at what's happened at Chelsea," Bruce said.

"But Claudio Ranieri has been fantastic towards us and Mikael. I can't thank him enough for letting us have one of his players for a year.

"The day before he came, Mikael signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea so it's clear they haven't forgotten just what an extremely gifted footballer he is.

"Whether they want to sell and, if so, what they want to do about it is another matter. But that's not a route we've gone down yet."