Ancelotti Expects City Signings

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti expects Manchester City to sign both Edin Dzeko and Aleksandar Kolarov.

Roberto Mancini has confirmed his interest in Dzeko, although City face competition from Juventus for the Wolfsburg striker, while he has also hailed Lazio full-back Kolarov.

City has already signed up Jerome Boateng, David Silva and Yaya Toure this summer, but Ancelotti expects them to continue spending.

"Roberto Mancini is building a great squad," Ancelotti told Il Giornale. "You'll see: they will also get Kolarov and Dzeko."

Lazio boss Edy Reja, though, is confident of keeping Kolarov at the club.

"Kolarov will come to pre-season training on July 20 and, as things stand right now, I think he will stay with us," he said on Football Italia. "If he does leave then he'll in any case be replaced by a player for that same role."

Chelsea Winger Yossi Benayoun: The Only Reason I Left Liverpool Was Rafael Benitez

New Chelsea signing Yossi Benayoun has hit out at former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, accusing the Spaniard of making his time at Anfield a horrible experience.

Benitez left the Reds to join Inter Milan after a disastrous Premier League campaign, which saw Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League for the 2010-11 season.

The Israel international revealed Benitez was the sole reason why he made the £5.5 million move to Chelsea earlier this month.

"Everyone asks me why I left Liverpool," Benayoun told The News of the World.

"There is only one reason - Rafa Benitez. I agreed to join Chelsea before Roy Hodgson was appointed Liverpool's new manager.

"It's a dream for me such a fantastic club have given me this opportunity. But I want Liverpool fans to know the truth and for them to know I made up my mind to leave a long time ago because of Benitez.

"He never treated me with the respect I deserved. If I played well, I never felt he gave me credit. When I scored, I still expected to be out of the team the next game.

"And when the fans wanted me to play, Benitez told me he couldn't understand why."

The 30-year-old, who scored nine times for the Reds last season, revealed there were many instances of mistreatment from Benitez.

"There are many examples of him treating me badly," he added.

"On two occasions early last season, against Fulham and Lyon, the fans booed when I was subbed. They thought I was playing well but Benitez told me he was surprised the fans booed because I was not good enough.

"Then, when we played Birmingham [City] after I hadn't started a game for a month, he didn't tell me I was starting until two hours before the game.

"He tried to destroy my confidence. You can't treat a player like this and expect him to be happy. I don't want to speak on behalf of other players at Liverpool, but people know what happened to Albert Riera and Xabi Alonso.

"It was the same for me. Benitez tried to break me like he broke Riera.”

Benayoun also revealed he was happy to leave once the Premier League champions made an offer for him and he could not take the chance of staying if Benitez also continued in his role.

"On the day before the final game of last season at Hull [City], Benitez pulled me to one side after training and said, 'You will not be in the squad for this game. Thank you for your three years of service, now you can call your agent to do a deal with another club.'

"That's when Chelsea made an offer and the deal was done before Benitez left. I knew I had to get away from Benitez. A lot of people at Liverpool treated me well and asked me to stay, but I could not turn down such a massive club as Chelsea.

"I could not risk waiting to see if Benitez kept his job. The club said they understood why I was unhappy and promised they'd let me leave in the summer if an offer came while Benitez was manager."

The fleet-footed winger believes Benitez departing for Serie A is great for the Reds and said playing in front of the Liverpool fans was an honour.

"It is good for Liverpool that Benitez has gone, but it was too late for me," he concluded.

"I know everyone working there will be a lot happier and I believe Roy Hodgson is a good choice. It was a privilege for me to play for such a great club in front of great fans. I thought I would be staying for a lot longer."

Aguero Eyes Chelsea Move

Argentina striker Sergio Aguero has fuelled rumours of a possible move to Stamford Bridge, saying the thought of a future with Chelsea 'excites' him.

Aguero, 22, has been linked with a number of high-profile clubs in the summer transfer window following his rise to fame at Atletico Madrid.

The Spanish side appears to have already conceded defeat in their attempts to retain his services, saying their star man can go for the right price.

"If an offer comes in from the right club and Atletico feels it is the right price, then a deal can be done," Aguero told the Daily Star on Sunday.

"Of course Chelsea is of interest as they are one of the most powerful teams in European football.

"They show their intent summer after summer in the transfer market and more often than not that intent will see them end the season with at least one trophy."

Aguero admits that building a stable future is amongst his priorities, but top of the list is silverware.

"As a player you need to look after your future financially but the truth is most top European clubs would offer me top packages," he said.

"What I need to consider is where I can win things and I know for sure I can win things at Chelsea.

"You look at their players and you are excited about any future you may have there."

The talented striker admits that the thought of playing alongside Didier Drogba amongst other Chelsea stars appeals massively.

He said: "To be the strike partner of Didier Drogba is a thing many players would love to be.

"But it's not just Drogba - it's Lampard, Terry, Anelka, Essien, and maybe even Fernando Torres.

"They have quality players everywhere."

Jose Mourinho Stepping Up Efforts To Buy Chelsea Defender Ashley Cole

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is going increase his efforts to buy Chelsea star Ashley Cole with the hopes that he will be able to pair him with Inter Milan back Maicon at the Bernabeu next season.

Mourinho believes that having two of the world’s premier attacking full-backs will help bring out the best in Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka and Real has provided the Portuguese with £40 million to bring both to Spain, according to the Daily Mail.

The former Blues manager brought Cole to Stamford Bridge from Arsenal in 2006 and hopes to take advantage of the left-back’s problems in England and bring him to Real.

The England international was condemned for his attitude after the Three Lions crashed out of the World Cup and has become an unpopular figure after his split with wife Cheryl.

Mourinho was also interested in Liverpool defender Glen Johnson but he prefers Maicon in the right-back position.

Former Chelsea Winger Joe Cole Favours A Move To Serie A Or La Liga This Summer

Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole might have a raft of offers to consider from Premier League clubs this summer, but it's believed he would prefer a move to either Serie A or La Liga.

Tottenham Hotspur appeared the favourites to land the England international, whose contract at Chelsea ran out at the end of last season.

However, according to the Daily Star, despite the interest at home, Cole has told his representative to look into a move to Italy or Spain.

Serie A giants AC Milan and La Liga’s Valenica are reported to be interested in a move for the 28-year-old on a free transfer.

Cole fell out of Blue's manager Carlo Ancelotti’s starting XI last season and contract negotiations between Chelsea and the Englishman fell through during the season.

£70M Price-Tag On Torres

Fernando Torres will have to put in a transfer request if he wants to quit Anfield.

And Liverpool will only let him go if they receive a mega bid in the region of £70million to force through a move to Chelsea.

Roy Hodgson will speak to his star striker and his representatives after the World Cup Final in an effort to keep him.

But if Torres says he wants out, he'll be told only a formal transfer request and a huge offer can make the deal of the summer possible.

The Merseysiders are not shifting from their hard-line stance that the sale of Torres is not on the agenda.

But there are fears the 26-year-old will ask the club to negotiate with the champions.

Privately, Liverpool concedes the dynamics will shift if the player declares he wants to go.

They're well aware of the player's concerns about the future of the club and the interest in him from Carlo Ancelotti, although they have had no indication yet he's seeking to leave.

No opening bid has been made and Anfield sources are describing suggestions Chelsea could lure Torres for around £30m as 'laughable'.

Germany's Captain Is Michael Ballack - Bastian Schweinsteiger

Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has indicated that he wants veteran Michael Ballack to retrieve the captain's armband when he returns to die Mannschaft.

The former Chelsea midfielder has been replaced by Philipp Lahm as Germany's captain for the 2010 World Cup as he was forced to miss the showpiece event with an injury.

Lahm says he would like to continue as the team's skipper beyond the World Cup and that he would not return the armband to Ballack unless he was told so by coach Joachim Loew.

Schweinsteiger has now declared that, despite Lahm's good job in South Africa, it is up to Ballack to captain the squad after the event.

"He [Ballack] is the captain of the national team and, if he returns, he will also recover the armband," Schweinsteiger told Welt am Sonntag.

"Philipp assumed the role due to Michael's injury and he has been doing a good job, but two captains are too much for just one position.

"For me, the captain of the team is Ballack."

Cech: Spain Have The Spine

Petr Cech was one of just a few Chelsea internationals not playing at the World Cup Finals but that did not prevent him attending the tournament, nor predicting who will lift the golden trophy.

Our star goalkeeper spent three days in South Africa last month, partly for an Adidas event in Johannesburg but he was also in the stands at a match involving one of tonight's finalists - Spain's group-stage win over Chile in Pretoria to be precise. Now back in England, he gives the Official Chelsea Website some of his World Cup views.

'Before the tournament I said that Spain was going to win it,' Cech claims.

'Let's see but they are in the Final even though they didn't start the tournament well. Game by game they play better and better and the last game against Germany they were brilliant so I think they have a big chance.

'They know each other. They have a team that has a spine with a lot of people from Barcelona so for me that is what makes them good.

'They have been playing together for years and automatically they do things. They don't lose time by thinking about it.'

Cech joins his club manager in tipping the Spaniards to triumph ultimately but he admits to being a little more selective in his match viewing than Carlo Ancelotti.

'When I came back from South Africa I saw the Germany v England game on the telly and I started watching more from the quarter-finals onwards, but before that I really wanted to switch off from football.

'I didn't like the atmosphere in the stadium in South Africa,' he admits, 'because you can't hear the people. The excitement from the atmosphere we are used to is the crowd singing and shouting and cheering when you have a chance. Because of the vuvuzela you hear none of this.

'I asked the Spanish players and they said it is harder to hear on the pitch. That is why they have to understand more each other's game. They say when everyone is blowing the vuvuzelas there is no chance they can hear anything.'

Naturally when he has been World Cup watching, Cech has given plenty of attention to the men who have helped make it a low-scoring tournament - the goalkeepers.

'Iker Casillas is doing very well because he is always decisive whenever he needs to make the save and he has made it so far,' assesses the Chelsea stopper.

'From the goalkeepers in the whole tournament of course there have been a few mistakes but overall I think they have done well.'