Live transfers

Transfers - Gossip Shop: Chelsea lure Ancelotti

Eurosport - Fri, 17 Apr 19:38:00 2009

War chests may invoke medieval images of bejewelled coffers, dripping with shiny booty and overflowing with coins, but they can also be quite handy in the modern day world of football.

FOOTBALL Carlo Ancelotti Milan - 0

Managers love nothing more than stamping their authority on a squad by splashing cash from a big metaphorical container on new players during the transfer window.

And considering it is no secret that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has a few bob to spare, even during these most crunchy of financial times, it comes as no surprise to hear that the Russian billionaire has prepared a huge £50 million box of treasures.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the sum is part of a deal that has been put together in a bid to entice Carlo Ancelotti to Stamford Bridge, once Guus Hiddink leaves at the end of the season.

Chelsea have apparently already agreed a deal with Milan to take Ancelotti to West London after dangling a huge carrot - in the form of the sizeable initial transfer budget - in front of the Italian..

The report claims that Ancelotti greedily gobbled it down and has already made a summer hit list of players he wants to jazz up his new squad.

Who are they?

Well, how about Emmanuel Adebayor, Yuri Zhirkov and Carlos Tevez for starters?

Ancelotti is a big fan of Arsenal striker Adebayor, whom he tried to sign for Milan last year before the Togo hitman opted to pen a new deal at the Emirates.

CSKA wing-back Zhirkov has already appeared on Chelsea's radar, what with Abramovich and Hiddink's connections with Russia, and Ancelotti is also thought to be an admirer.

And Tevez - who, despite starting three of Manchester United 's last four Premier League games, still cannot class himself as first choice - has yet to sign a permanent deal with the Old Trafford club, a situation Chelsea are hoping to exploit.

While the figures do not quite match up - Adebayor is valued at £20m, Zhirkov at £15 and Tevez at more than £20m - if nothing more, the move shows Abramovich's intention to continue bankrolling Chelsea's activity on the transfer market, despite a turbulent year off the field.

But the Blues are bound to face competition, with Tevez in particular set to prompt a bidding war should he not stay at Old Trafford beyond his current lease agreement.

Real Madrid are also thought to be keeping track of the Argentina striker's situation, as are Serie A duo Juventus and Internazionale, and moneybags Manchester City.

In other wheelings and dealings, West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola is keen to secure the future of Mathew Upson at Upton Park. And the little Italian would be well within his rights to feel confident after having already tied down nine others of this first team squad to new deals.

Indeed, Zola's mission to hang on to as many of his current squad could well prove shrewd as The Guardian reports that the club is on the verge of being taken over by a consortium of international banks.

Staumur, the bank who backed Bjogolfur Gudmundsson's takeover of the Hammers in 2006, was nationalised last month in the wake of Iceland's financial meltdown and is now set to be taken over.

That would mean a new board at Upton Park and, more pertinently for this column, no funds for Zola to spend on new players this summer.

Across town at Fulham, Roy Hodgson has insisted Brede Hangeland is close to penning a new deal, despite interest from Arsenal while in the Midlands, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is lining up a £6m bid for Leeds youngster Fabian Delph .

And finally, down to the Championship where QPR - not a club to sell themselves short these days - have targeted none other than Brazilian legend Romario as Paulo Sousa's replacement in the Loftus Road hotseat.

The former Barcelona ace, who famously might, or might not, have scored 1,000 goals as a player, is expected to face stiff competition for the job from Alan Pardew.

Eurosport

Comment 32 - 51 of 51

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. teves?what a joke other players from othe english teams­ ?get somebody else bored at watchin the same old­ faces....chelsea dont need them!!!!!

    From theonebehindthewheel, on Sat 18 Apr 10:27AM

  2. Im not allowed to post my cech comment it­ appears.

    these 3 comments are ment to be in the 1 but­ kept getting invalid

    From yip, on Sat 18 Apr 2:08AM

  3. yes ferreira aint perfect, especially long term but­ he's been great for the club. Another left back is­ def needed zhirkov would be perfect as can also play­ more up front but cant spend 10 mil odd on a backup. I­ look at reserves and the players getting mentioned­ never seem to be left back.

    malouda didnt win french­ player of year for no reason, and no not all transfers­ work out but look how he started at chelsea before­ injury and the guys quality should never be­ questioned.

    I think a lot of what drogba says is ment­ in different ways and off the cuff but almost all great­ players need a bit of an ego to drive them on.

    From yip, on Sat 18 Apr 2:05AM

  4. purple, cheers. good not to just have a slagging match­ and have sum1 gives reasons for opinions as thats what­ they are.

    From yip, on Sat 18 Apr 2:02AM

  5. can euro sport please get their facts right, Zhirkov­ isn't worth £15!!! can whoever wrote this article­ do bit of research 1st before coming out with­ ridiculous figures like that, I'm sure they get­ paid enough, the public doesn't deserve to get­ faulty information like this.

    From Lucy, on Fri 17 Apr 9:00PM

  6. princessimnot...Big fan of AC Milan...I am new to the­ "wonderful game"...but I do not believe what­ is reported by the media...I lived through the­ "Watts Riots" in LA,Calif.
    Coach Ancelotti­ has the respect and love at the San Siro.But some time­ family's grow and change...lets just wait to see.If­ he does leaves will he bring Kaka (his son...LOL) with­ him?

    From Princessimnot, on Fri 17 Apr 8:13PM

  7. or jealousy !!!!!!!!

    From handyandyisalways, on Fri 17 Apr 6:34PM

  8. or GREED even?

    From MichealG, on Fri 17 Apr 6:08PM

  9. its amazing what money and football have in common its­ called GREAD

    From mickyboy, on Fri 17 Apr 5:46PM

  10. scott s - nice one. some good points well made. I­ don't agree with all of them, obviously (that would­ be too easy) especially re: Petr Cech - I think his­ nerves are gone since the horrible tackle/injury he­ suffered and he doesn't command his area or his­ defenders with the same authority he did previously. ­ Malouda has settled a bit recently but he was supposed­ to be better than Duff and, fit or not, at 30, Ferreira­ is not a good, long-term alternative to Ashley Cole. ­ Drogba's anti-Scolari rants in recent weeks seem to­ me to be ego-derived. Anyway, nice one for taking the­ time.
    Dante - I'm prepared to be corrected if­ wrong, but I don't think Einstein had any interest­ in football!

    From purple_hatstand, on Fri 17 Apr 5:36PM

  11. Most of the comments are stupid, everyone is an­ EINSTEIN !

    From dante, on Fri 17 Apr 5:00PM

  12. Very stupid comments, you're all Einsteins!!

    From dante, on Fri 17 Apr 4:57PM

  13. Ah Scolari - Of course you have to concede that when­ Scolari was sacked by the petulence of Abramovich that­ Chelsea's whole world caved in...
    Oh no actually­ eveyrthing got a lot better - clearly sacking him was­ the wrong decision!? Why people still persist to bring­ that one up when they WERE CLEARLY WRONG beats me.

    But­ I can see where the confusion comes from - how can­ 'giving the manager time' not be the golden­ rule for success upon which the universe was founded?­

    Well let me explain:

    It's pretty obvious really:­ Successful managers don't normally get sacked. Thus­ you can look at Arsene Wenger, David Moyes, Sam­ Allardyce (Bolton) etc. and say look giving them time­ worked. Well actually no - they were successful, so­ they got time, time itself didn't bring success.­ You want a case in point? Gareth Southgate: boro have­ stuck with him through thick and thin for two years,­ and now they'll be relegated. You could even take­ Mark Hughes (one year granted) but have results got­ better as the year went on? No. If City stick with­ Hughes for 2 more years will they be European­ champions? Seems unlikely.

    So I'm sure eveyrone­ who disagrees with what I'm saying is shouting­ 'Ferguson' 'Ferguson', well ok,­ Fereguson was given time, and it paid off. I won't­ even try and deny it. But since when has one positive­ case proved the rule? Probably there are a couple of­ others lurking around - but compared to the weight of­ those who are sacked early, it's pretty meaningless­ - I mean are we really saying that all the managers who­ were sacekd in 2004 would now be flying high? Frankly­ it's ridiculous to even say that 20% of them would.

    From Chris C, on Fri 17 Apr 4:54PM

  14. Anceloti to Chelsea: The Aftermath of Titanic­ part1&2!
    from Eletta, 9ja.

    From CyberSamie, on Fri 17 Apr 4:42PM

  15. There's a saying DON'T BELIEVE ALL YOU READ IN­ THE PAPERS!!!

    Why would he leave AC MILAN where he has­ earned RESPECT and worl wide admirement for CHELSEA,­ where no one is safe!!!

    From Richie, on Fri 17 Apr 4:36PM

  16. Whyever would Ancelotti want 2 go 2 Chelski??? surely­ he'd rather stay with a STABLE, top, European club,­ with great players like Kaka, Ronaldinho et todo (et­ all).... besides, I thought he can't speak a word­ of English??? how r Chelski going 2 comprende signor­ Ancelotti? I thought Jose Moaninho was rumoured 2 b­ lined up 4 a return 2 Chelski? Who would seriously­ want 2 work for Abramovich anyway, after the way he­ casually jettisoned Moaninho, Avram Grant, and Felipe­ Scolari??.......

    From Tony H, on Fri 17 Apr 4:23PM

  17. arrrrrsehole banks! They lose millions and billions but­ can still get money from the taxpayers to buy other­ banks and football teams??? incompetant p-ricks! The­ only way to end up with a small fortune in football is­ to start off with a huge fortune!

    From pegez, on Fri 17 Apr 4:20PM

  18. I wasnt giving my opinion to offend anyone. I was­ trying to point out that people have opinions i the­ other direction mainly just through something they read­ rather than ever watching or actually knowing whats­ going on.

    I mean people will take this page as facts­ and use it in arguements even though its almost 100%­ def made up dribble

    From yip, on Fri 17 Apr 3:58PM

  19. Scott S... your opinion is an obvious one, because you­ support the club, but that doesn't make it right,­ ease up.

    From rookinio, on Fri 17 Apr 3:46PM

  20. what the?****

    From slilly14, on Fri 17 Apr 3:30PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account