Spurs Boss Harry Redknapp Wants To Sign Joe Cole

Harry Redknapp has admitted for the first time he is trying to sign Joe Cole.

But the Spurs boss faces a battle with North London rivals Arsenal to secure the signature of the Chelsea and England midfielder.

Redknapp said: "We've declared our interest in Joe to his agent but that is as far as it has gone.

"We are told Joe doesn't want to talk to anyone about any move until after the World Cup is over."

Cole, 28, is available on a free transfer after refusing new terms at Stamford Bridge and Redknapp is keen to work with him for a second time.

Cole was given his first-team break at West Ham when Redknapp bossed the Hammers, before moving to Chelsea for £6.5million seven years ago.

The England star was demanding a wage rise of around £30,000 on top of his £80,000-a-week salary to bring him in line with Chelsea's top earners but the Blues refused.

Arsenal have a strict wage policy but can get around it by offering Camden-born Cole a big signing-on fee as he will cost nothing.

Nicolas Anelka Aiming For More Titles After Signing New Deal

After signing a new contract extension at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is now aiming to take more silverware to west London next season.

The French forward, who was a key player for Carlo Ancelotti's double-winners last season, has scored 42 goals in 123 games for the Blues and has proved himself a formidable partner to Didier Drogba in the Chelsea frontline.

"I aim to score goals and win more titles," Anelka told Chelsea's official website.

"This is the most important thing for everybody, and to enjoy my football and give pleasure to the fans because they come to the games, they want to see good football, they want to see goals, they want to see wins, so this is what I will try to do and we will try to do as a team.

"We start in the league at home to West Brom, and it is nice to start at home - there will be a lot of fans there like always, it will not be an easy game against this kind of team who are newly promoted, but we have a big team and we will do our job."

Anelka also praised Carlo Ancelotti, the club's manager, believing that the Italian was a reason for his own good form last season, which saw him score 15 goals and create many more for his team-mates.

"He won a lot of things in Italy, and you know when you speak with someone like him, he understands what you want and you understand what he wants," continued Anelka.

"It is simple to work with him, easy.

"I know he tried to sign with me for Juventus, but I signed in Real Madrid, but now I am very glad to be here with him, he is a good person, a very good manager and I am glad to be here with him."

Chelsea Set To Snatch Real Madrid Youngster Alipio

Chelsea are set to re-ignite their interest in Real Madrid youngster Alipio after he was made a potential makeweight in Angel Di Maria's Benfica move, according to Marca.

The Brazilian youth international has been a long-term target for the Blues and they came close to landing him before he moved to the Spanish capital a year ago.

Despite being only 17, he is already a star performer in the club's Castilla side and had been earmarked for a future role in the first team.

A return to Portugal was on the cards for the ex-Rio Ave forward to ease Di Maria's £22 million move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Carlo Ancelotti will now reportedly attempt to derail this move with a bid of his own.

Tottenham And Chelsea Battle For Barcelona Dealmaker Begiristain

According to Spanish daily 'Sport', Chelsea and Tottenham are the leading candidates to secure the services of Barcelona technical secretary Txiki Begiristain.

The 45-year-old is a former Barcelona player and Spanish international. He was brought into the Nou Camp as technical secretary in 2003 in order to end a barren four seasons without a trophy and has since helped bring incredible success for the Catalans. Begiristain has overseen the transfers of influential stars such as Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o during his time at the Nou Camp.

However, Barcelona president Joan Laporta's reign will end at the end of the month and it is thought that his close ally Begiristain will also use the opportunity to move on. 'Sport' suggests that Tottenham, Chelsea and Rangers are all interested in securing his services, but that Begiristain is most interested in a move to England.

Chelsea would clearly offer Begiristain the greatest financial incentive and could provide him with the largest budget to work with. Although Begiristain has previously been linked with Tottenham, it remains to be seen whether Harry Redknapp would be willing to share responsibility on matters such as player recruitment.

John Terry's A Top Block, Says Joe Cole

Joe Cole has hailed John Terry as the best defender in the world and described him as the “heartbeat” of the England team.

Terry landed himself in hot water with manager Fabio Capello for calling on the players to challenge him on issues such as bringing Cole into the team. Cole was finally used as a late substitute in the victory over Slovenia, in which Terry bounced back from his problems with a superb performance.

“You can’t knock JT,” said Cole. “He is the best centre-half in the world and some of the blocks and the tackles against Slovenia were brilliant. He is the heartbeat of the side and an exceptional player. We’ve got so many good leaders in the team and it was a great performance from him.”

And despite being limited to a bit-part role so far, Cole has vowed to give everything to England’s cause, whether he is playing 90 minutes or nine. “The main thing is the squad game,” said Cole. “If I get one minute, I’ll fight for that one minute.”

Ballack Returns To Leverkusen On Two-year Deal

Michael Ballack has joined Bayer Leverkusen on a two-year contract. The 33-year-old, who is missing the World Cup through an injury picked up in the FA Cup final victory, was released by Chelsea at the end of last season.

The midfielder is returning to the Bundesliga and his old side, with whom he reached the Champions League final in 2002

"With my transfer to Bayer Leverkusen a circle is complete. I had a beautiful and successful time here, on which I like to look back on a lot," Ballack told the club's website.

"That was a factor in my decision." Ballack added: "But above all the good sporting potential of this young and attractive team were persuasive.

"I am especially looking forward to the great fans, who naturally have been key in my decision to return to Bayer."

Ballack, who spent three years with Bayer before leaving for Bayern Munich in 2002 and then moving on to Chelsea in 2006, will reportedly earn around €12 million over a two-year stay at Bayer.

Steve McClaren's Wolfsburg were also believed to have been interested in him, but Ballack has opted for a return to his old club.

Bayer sporting director is delighted to have signed a player of Ballack's experience, and believes he will help the development of the club's crop of young players.

"With Michael Ballack our team is getting an enormous boost in quality," he said. "Especially our many young players will benefit from his abilities and his experience.

"We did everything to convince Michael. That his preference was for Bayer despite our limited financial possibilities in comparison to the competition shows his emotional attachment to the club."

Salomon Kalou Admits Disappointment At Ivory Coast's Performances

Chelsea attacker Salomon Kalou has admitted pressure at World Cup 2010 has been to blame for Ivory Coast's poor tournament.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's side look set to crash out of Group G unless they can turn around a nine-goal disadvantage to Portugal in Friday’s fixtures.

The Elephants were hotly-tipped before the tournament, but a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Brazil has condemned them to an early flight home and they will need a miracle against North Korea.

Speaking to reporters, Kalou blamed high expectations as the cause for the squad's flop.

"Expectations were huge and we owed it to ourselves to perform well. But the pressure has caused us more stress than anything and even inhibited our talents," Kalou said.

"All of us have put lots of pressure on ourselves because this World Cup is being played on our continent.

"There have been a few players who haven't been up to the standard required. Their abilities have been crushed by the pressure they've put on their own shoulders."

My Favourite Games: Scott Sinclair

He may have spent the season away from Stamford Bridge but that did not stop Scott Sinclair sharing his memories of his two favourite matches, one in which he played, and the other which he watched.

Favourite game played:

This may seem an unlikely choice for many but add to the fixture the fact it's your Premier League debut for Chelsea and all will make sense.

Sinclair's favourite game to ever play in was exactly that, when he first donned the senior team's shirt in the Barclays Premier League against Arsenal in May 2007, when a draw saw the Blues relinquish the title to Manchester United.

It was a depleted Chelsea side that travelled to north London as Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, Andrey Shevchenko and Arjen Robben all missed the fixture through injury.

Add to it that Khalid Boulahrouz was shown red during the first half; a dwindling Chelsea side were soon down to 10.

Gilberto Silva scored first, netting for the home side two minutes before the break, before Michael Essien evened the scores with a phenomenal strike in the 70th. It was 10 minutes after that Sinclair's debut would arrive.

Swapping for Shaun Wright-Phillips on the wing, under the watchful gaze of Jose Mourinho, Sinclair did well to set up Frank Lampard in the final minute, only for our number eight to narrowly miss the target.

'My favourite game was making my League debut for Chelsea,' says Sinclair, 'it was such a big thing for me. That will always stay in my mind.'

Favourite game watched:

It is proving to be popular. You have to go back five years for Scott's favourite game he's seen, to when he was a 16-year-old watching Liverpool take on Milan in the Final of the Champions League.

Liverpool had sealed their place in the final thanks to a phantom goal against Chelsea in the semis, and went on to produce a pretty dismal display during the first-half against Carlo Ancelotti's AC Milan.

They were playing in Istanbul and conceded the first goal with only 50 seconds of football played, when Paulo Maldini struck.

Then, for Milan's second, Andrey Schevchenko crossed for Herman Crespo to tap in at the near post before the Argentine made it three in the 42nd minute.

No one would have blamed you for thinking the game was beyond reach for Liverpool as they returned to the pitch for the second half, but it wasn't.

Instead Steven Gerrard rallied his side for one of the most incredible comebacks in football's recent history.

Heading home a John Arne Riise cross, the Liverpool captain brought belief back to the ranks only nine minutes after the restart.

A further goal then arrived from Vladimir Smicer before Xabi Alonso was given the opportunity to equalise from the penalty spot. He missed the initial shot but followed up on the rebound as Dida failed to hold on. It was 3-3 with 30 minutes left.

There would be no more goals in normal or extra-time and Liverpool eventually went on to win the game 3-2 on penalties, as Serginho, Andrea Pirlo and, surprisingly, Shevchenko all missed from the spot.

'How they came back from the 3-0 is amazing,' says Sinclair, 'and in the Champions League Final as well.

'At 3-0 you think the game is done but Gerrard was the difference in that one.'