Crespo clinches switch to Inter

Crespo scored 16 goals for Inter in 2002/03

Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo has joined Inter Milan in a two-year deal.

The 31-year-old has moved on loan but the move is effectively a free transfer as it takes Crespo to the end of his deal at Stamford Bridge.

But Chelsea do have the option to take Crespo back after one season if needed.

Chelsea signed Crespo from Inter for £16.8m in August 2003 but he failed to cement a regular starting place and has complained about missing Italy.

The Argentine recently acquired Italian citizenship and still owns a house on the outskirts of Milan.

CRESPO'S CLUBS River Plate (Argentina) 1993-1996 Parma (Italy) 1996-2000 Lazio (Italy) 2000-2002 Inter Milan (Italy) 2002-2003 Chelsea (England) 2004-2006 AC Milan (Italy) loan 2004-2005

The forward, who has played for Parma, Lazio, Inter Milan and AC Milan, said: "For me it is a matter of pride to be back at Inter.

"I had left here crying and now I am back smiling."

He added: "Nothing bothers me at all about the loan transfer. I actually have to thank Chelsea, the chairman and the coach because they understood what I wanted as a man and they have made me happy.

"I have a special, sentimental and now legal relationship with Italy. I am officially an Italian citizen.

"I have an Italian wife and two Milanese daughters, Nicole and Sofia. They are at home here."

Crespo had also attracted interest from AC Milan, with whom he spent the 2004/05 season on loan from Chelsea.

The arrival of Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan this summer had left Crespo an even more peripheral figure at Stamford Bridge.

However, the departure of Crespo leaves Didier Drogba and Shevchenko as the only front-line strikers at Chelsea, which might lead manager Jose Mourinho into another foray into the transfer market.