Chelsea Unconcerned About Rumours Of Real Madrid Move For Ashley Cole

Chelsea believe they are well positioned to resist interest in Ashley Cole from Real Madrid, even if the England defender decides he wants a new challenge abroad.

Cole's displeasure at the intense media focus on his private life in England has raised hopes in Madrid that a deal is possible this summer, with Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas saying he was "confident" that a deal could be done that would reunite the defender with former boss Jose Mourinho.

Chelsea, though, have had no indication from Cole that he wants to leave, and manager Carlo Ancelotti still regards the England left-back as integral to his plans for next season.

Cole signed a new four-year contract only last September, although the interest from Madrid could still be used to negotiate improved terms.

The 29 year-old has been on holiday in the United States and, as is the case with all the Chelsea players who were eliminated in the knockout phase of the World Cup, is not due back for pre-season training until July 26.

Captain John Terry, however, decided to return to the club's Cobham training base this week to begin working on his fitness.

Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel, who both missed the World Cup with knee injuries, have also resumed their pre-season and there is confidence that they will both be available for the start of the Premier League season against West Bromwich Albion on Aug 14.

The return of Essien, in particular, would be a major boost after he missed the entire second half of last season and eventually required surgery to correct ligament damage.

"There should be no problem whatsoever," said Ray Wilkins, the Chelsea assistant manager. "Mikel is slightly in advance of Michael Essien but they are both working very well indeed."

Wilkins also stressed the importance of carefully managing the pre-season schedule of the nine Chelsea players who did play in the World Cup in South Africa.

"Normally after a World Cup, you find with those players who come back from it, it is about December when they seem to hit a wall," he said. Chelsea play their first pre-season match of the summer against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Chelsea Set T Sbmit £25m Ofer Fr Inter Sriker Mario Balotelli

Chelsea are ready to submit a €30 million (£25m) bid for Inter striker Mario Balotelli, according to internews.it.

The teenager, already reportedly the envy of both Manchester United and Manchester City is also wanted by the London club. The mega-bid comes just days after Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti said he would like to coach the player.

Balotelli's future at Inter has been up in the air after several disciplinary problems last season and the player recently dropped out of the Italian Players' Association (AIC). However, new boss Rafael Benitez recently suggested that the 19-year-old was important to the club.

Considered one of the best prospects in world football, it's unlikely that Balotelli will be sold on the cheap if indeed he leaves the Giuseppe Meazza. He has an impressive record of 20 goals in 59 appearances during his first three seasons in Serie A.

After featuring for the Italian Under-21 team over the past several months, there are also suggestions he could be in line for a call-up to the senior national side under new coach Cesare Prandelli.

Ramires Eyes 'Dream' Chelsea Switch

Highly-rated Brazil international Ramires insists it would be a "dream" to play for Chelsea, Barcelona or Real Madrid.

The 23-year-old's agent revealed earlier this month that the Blues and Bayern Munich had spoken to Benfica over a deal for the midfielder.

Ramires says he isn't surprised by interest in his signature and hopes to play for one of Europe's biggest clubs.

"My agent has told me that a number of clubs are interested in signing me, but this didn't surprise me," he told Record.

"We all know that the World Cup is the perfect stage to prove your worth.

"One good game could be enough to attract the interest of a big club. I don't know the names of the clubs that are after me, but it would be a dream for me to play for a big club such as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Chelsea."

Werder Bremen Admit They Could Sell Germany Star Mesut Oezil

Werder Bremen have admitted that they could yet sell Mesut Oezil this summer, despite previously ruling out any transfer.

Clubs such as Real Madrid, Chelsea and Juventus are all closely monitoring the situation of the playmaker, following his superb performances for Germany at the 2010 World Cup.

The Bundesliga outfit had made it clear that they were determined to hold on to their star player, by stating that Oezil was not for sale at any price. However, general director Klaus Allofs has now seemingly had second thoughts, revealing that the 21-year-old could leave the Hanseaten after all.

"We're keen to hold on to Mesut for a couple more seasons and we want him to sign a new deal with us," Allofs was quoted as saying by Bild.

"However, if that turns out to be impossible, we might have to look at other solutions."

Oezil's current contract with Werder runs until June 2011, but the Bundesliga outfit could cash in on the gifted midfielder this summer if an offer in the region of £17 million comes in.

Lukaku Set To Snub Chelsea Switch

Belgian wonderkid Romelu Lukaku has been strongly tipped to join the Ancelotti revolution at Stamford Bridge this summer, since it emerged that Didier Drogba had called the Anderlecht teenager earlier this week.

What FIFA will make of Drogba’s comments in light of Chelsea’s recently overturned transfer ban, imposed originally due to the ‘tapping up’ of french winger Gael Kakuta, remains to be seen. Any chance of a transfer, however, has seemingly been scuppered by Lukaku’s father Roger, who is also his agent.

He has stated that 17 year old Lukaku will stay at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadion until he is 18, by which time he will have completed his final school exams, a stance revealed by Anderlecht’s General Manager Herman Van Holsbeech.

A move to Chelsea must have been tempting; Lukaku’s father had reportedly been offered ‘help settling in the area’ and employment, and Lukaku himself the chance of playing alongside his idol Drogba in a title winning side, in addition to a considerable financial package. Lukaku is also known to be a Chelsea fan, having been pictured wearing the clubs strip in the Chelsea conference room.

Nonetheless, it now seems that any transfer will have to wait another 12 months, by which time 6ft 4in Lukaku will have spearheaded Anderlecht’s Champions League campaign and potentially added millions of pounds to an already hefty £10m price tag.

Porto Determined To Cash In On £15m Rated Chelsea Target Raul Meireles

Porto are reportedly determined to flog star midfielder Raul Meireles to the highest bidder, with Manchester United and Chelsea interested in securing his signature.

Meireles, 27, was one of the bright spots of Portugal's World Cup 2010 campaign and is rated as one of the best ball winners in European football.

With an eye for goal to boot, the £15 million-rated player has been linked with Real Madrid as well as the Premier League duo.

According to O Bola, Porto have virtually transfer listed the player as they look to cash in on his exploits in South Africa.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to see Meireles as a replacement for injury plagued battler Owen Hargreaves, who has suffered yet another set back in his bid to overcome a chronic tendonitis problem in his knees.

Belletti Agrees Terms With Fluminese

Former Brazil international Juliano Belletti has agreed terms with Fluminense in his homeland after being released by Chelsea at the end of last season.

The 34-year-old is set to sign a two-year deal with the Rio de Janeiro-based club if he passes a medical later this week.

Belletti moved to Stamford Bridge from Barcelona three years ago and went on to score five goals in 94 appearances for the west London outfit.

He started his career at Cruzeiro before moving on to Sao Paulo, Atletico Mineiro and then Villarreal.

Belletti spent one season with the Yellow Submarine before joining Barca in the summer of 2004 and went on to feature in 91 matches for the Catalan giants.

He was one of three players to be released by Chelsea at the end of last season. Michael Ballack has already joined Bayer Leverkusen while Joe Cole is still without a club.

Fiorentina's Adrian Mutu Will Not Give In To Chelsea

Adrian Mutu is adamant that he will not give in to Chelsea's demands over his proposed ban as a result of debts and the Romanian will not allow the Premier League champions' pressure affect him when his season begins, according to violanews.

The Fiorentina man's ban for testing positive for banned substances will finish at the end of October and the striker is keen to start his season for the Viola.

An on-going trial is looking at the possibility of wage reductions to allow Chelsea to be compensated the claimed €17 million that the London club believe they are owed. If a decision fails to be made final, the hearing will then go to an arbitration panel. The player pleaded his defence last month but it could be a long wait to find out whether FIFA will look into a possible ban.

Profiling The Future - Nemanja Matic

Matic was signed by Chelsea in the summer of 2009 for a reported fee of £1.5million from Slovakian club MFK Kosice. The 6 foot 5 inch midfielder was courted by Tottenham, Middlesbrough, Bayern Munich and Valencia before he agreed to join us.

Having started his career at Serbian side Kolubara Lazarevac, he became their youngest ever debutant aged 15 years and 11 months. He went on to play 3 seasons for them making an impressive 19 appearances with 1 goal to his name (coming in a friendly) and 1 assist.

His contributions saw Kosice gain interest and in his 2 years with them he made 67 appearances with 4 goals and 12 assists to his name. He was truly their midfield general, sitting deep, making perfect passes to open up play and running in to link up with attack on occasions.

Having impressed a great deal with his playing style, it was no surprise that he found himself at Stamford Bridge for the 2009/10 season. He was drafted into the reserve team, hoping that with his performances would merit a place in the first 11.

For the reserves Matic made 10 appearances with a goal to his name, a beautiful effort against Arsenal reserves. So far it stands as his only goal in any Chelsea shirt. He also had 2 assists to his name.

The reserves team had a lot more fluency whenever he was on the pitch, with Reserves manager Steve Holland describing his importance to the side after a 4-1 win over the reserve Hammers:

'Matic is quite a talent already, his passing won us the game today.'

Matic made his Premier League debut for us in a 4-0 win over Wolves after replacing Malouda for the last 20 minutes. He was impressive on the day and involved in some good attacking play at the end.

His only other appearance was in the 8-0 against Wigan also after 70 minutes as he continued where Ballack left off in helping with 3 more goals for the blues. He was also involved in the 5-0 demolition of Watford in the FA Cup. Sadly, injuries on a consistent basis meant that these were his only appearances.

Internationally Matic has represented Serbia at both U-19 and U-21 level, even making it into the final 30 of Serbia's World Cup list. His exclusion from the final 23 was inevitable as he was in direct competition with quality players like Kacar, Kuzmanovic and Stankovic in his position.

He has made 10 appearances at junior level with 2 goals in his first three games as well as 4 assists overall. For Serbia's national team he has 2 appearances to date. While compared to our last two profiles Matic seems an unattractive option, he is probably the most crucial and maybe even the likeliest to take his chance.

The void of the legendary Ballack is great but if anyone can fill it, it's Matic. His slow progress has mainly been down to injury problems. If he can overcome that, Ancelotti will have at his disposal a player similar in nature to Pirlo but with a more imposing physique.

A bit of hard work and Matic could be the answer to many questions posed by the loyal blue supporters.