It remains to be seen how many friends Avram Grant has within the Chelsea squad, but he certainly will have one in the opposing dugout this afternoon when Manchester City visit Stamford Bridge. As he roamed Europe over the past decade, building up his coaching knowledge, Grant met Sven-Göran Eriksson and came to admire the Swede’s quiet approach.

As Grant settles into his role as first-team coach, the man-management tests keep coming. Shaun Wright-Phillips was reported to be unhappy after failing to make the squad for the midweek win over Schalke 04, while Andriy Shevchenko is understood to be working with Darren Campbell, the former sprinter, as the striker seeks to recapture long-lost form.

The former Israel coach refused to say whether Wright-Phillips would be restored to the lineup today but said that suggestions that Eriksson was interested in taking him back to Manchester City were “not true for this moment . . . For the moment I have no intention to sell any player from our squad.”

Whether the Swede follows up his reported interest in the England winger, Grant has nothing but positive things to say about Eriksson, whom he first met when he was coach of Lazio. “I visited him there, I enjoyed very much what I saw,” Grant said. “I was at many training sessions of the England team when he was a coach. I think he did a very good job with England as he is doing now with Manchester City. He’s a very nice guy, I like positive persons and he’s one of them.”