SoccerFrank Lampard's future at Chelsea was shrouded in fresh uncertainty last night when the England midfielder claimed he has not been offered a new contract and his agent, Steve Kutner, suggested the Premiership champions have "other things they need to resolve first".

Lampard signed a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge in May 2004 but Fifa-adopted European Union law enables players to terminate a contract with 15 days' notice, provided they have served three years of it and signed it when under 28.

Lampard will be eligible to invoke that rule in less than two months and, with Chelsea seemingly preoccupied by the precarious nature of Jose Mourinho's tenure as manager, the 28-year-old may be forced to take matters into his own hands.

"There's no update," said Lampard of contract negotiations. "It's down to the club to come to me with an offer and I'm waiting for that. There are a lot of things going on and we're at the stage of the season where it's very important. I'm sure the board and the directors are concentrating on football at the moment, so there's plenty of time. It's been said that I'm waiting on Jose's future but the two issues aren't tied."

Kutner was unable to explain why discussions have not advanced beyond informal meetings with Chelsea's chief executive, Peter Kenyon, but suggested the club's delay may prove costly.

"It's not that they've offered us anything we're not happy with because we haven't got that far," he said. "I cannot comment on the delay. All you can do is ask Peter Kenyon what the delay is. Maybe they've got other things they need to resolve first - those are other issues altogether.

"I've got no idea why things are dragging on. I've had a couple of amicable meetings with Peter; he knows what we want and that we want to stay. We know what they want and that they want Frank to stay but the longer things drag on the closer we get to the end of the season. They've got to come to us to make it happen."

Following a precedent set by the former Hearts defender Andy Webster, who terminated his contract at Tynecastle at the end of last season, Lampard would effectively be able to buy out the two remaining years of his deal under article 17 of Fifa's transfer regulations. Chelsea would be entitled to compensation equal to the remainder of his salary.

"The club know that rule because it was mentioned to me when I met Peter," said Kutner. "It brings added pressure and so it is in the club's interests to sort this out fairly swiftly."

Lampard has never expressed a desire to leave the club and, earning more than £100,000 a week, termination of his contract would cost more than £10 million, but he would have no shortage of suitors happy to pick up the tab if he becomes exasperated by Chelsea's procrastination.

"There have always been numerous options available to Frank," Kutner added. "When we did the last contract Juventus were desperate to sign Frank and he always maintained that as long as he got parity with the other players that had come in since his previous contract - players like Juan Sebastian Veron and Hernan Crespo - he would be staying at Chelsea and eventually they agreed to that."

Meanwhile, Mourinho believes Michael Ballack's tie-clinching goal against Porto could finally help the midfielder make his mark at Chelsea after a torrid first season at Stamford Bridge.

Ballack, who joined Mourinho's Premiership champions on a free transfer from Bayern Munich last summer, has struggled to adapt to the English game and been criticised by fans.

The Germany captain has yet to produce the kind of form that made him one of Europe's top players but last night's 79th-minute Champions League strike will help to silence the doubters.

Chelsea had trailed to a Ricardo Quaresma goal at the interval but a dreadful mistake by Porto goalkeeper Helton allowed Arjen Robben to level three minutes after the restart.

Ballack then dashed Porto's dreams of putting one over on their old boss Mourinho when he volleyed home from eight yards, sealing a 2-1 win on the night and a 3-2 aggregate success.

Mourinho said: "I keep saying that criticism doesn't make me decide to play him. I decide in my mind and from the way I analyse the game. I accept, sometimes, opinions from my assistants - nothing else.

"What the crowd thinks does not make me change my mind. But I think the goal is good for him because it put Chelsea in the quarter-finals. It is one of those goals that is like a stamp. He put in a great effort to play a good game. He was exactly like the team - didn't play well in the first half, but played very well in the second half."

Guardian Service