New West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola wants to bring in Clarke as his No 2, but Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon have so far blocked his move.
A friend of Clarke told News of the World: “Steve is deeply hurt and upset by Chelsea’s stance.
“Basically, they are treating him with utter contempt.
“He has been nothing but loyal to the club, even when he was marginalised under Avram Grant.
“What is the reward for 21 years of loyalty? It’s having it thrown back in Steve’s face.
“All he wants to do is further his career working alongside a friend he has known for over 10 years but Chelsea seem determined to punish him for that.
“He has two years on his contract which is worth £1.2m but Chelsea want four times that before they’ll even let him speak to West Ham.
“Yet they’ve sorted out the likes of Shevchenko, Crespo and Veron almost at the drop of the hat — players who’ve contributed next to nothing to Chelsea — but they won’t do anything for somebody who has served the club loyally through thick and thin.
“He’s really hurt because somebody like Avram Grant earned more in wages and a pay-off in a year than Steve has earned in 10 years.
“Under Grant, Steve was way down the pecking order behind the likes of Henk Ten Cate — but always stayed absolutely loyal and did his job.
“Now it’s obvious he’s not as hands-on under Scolari as he was under Jose Mourinho and wants to move to another Premier League club where he’ll have a chance to be far more involved.
“Yet as soon as he asked, Chelsea have acted so heavy-handedly that he’s beginning to wonder what he’s done wrong to be treated like this.”
