The Finnish youngster was brought into the Chelsea ranks by Ruud Gullit during his reign as manager two years ago, but after a handful of games was shipped out to the First Division club to gain vital experience of English football. After helping Palace survive a relegation battle with 14 goals in 38 appearances, Forssell now seems certain to feature in Chelsea's first-team plans. I am very happy to have extended my contract by two years to 2005 and to know I will be part of the first-team squad at Chelsea next season.
Every club needs four quality strikers.
Mikael will be part of our quartet next season, competing for a place with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Gianfranco Zola and Eidur Gudjohnsen. He has worked hard and deserves this chance.