Chelsea Warn Ashley Cole The Grass Is No Greener In Madrid

Chelsea chairman, Bruce Buck, believes Ashley Cole would not escape the intrusion into his private life with a transfer to an overseas club.

The Chelsea and England left-back feels hounded in England, where his every movement is tracked by the paparazzi and he has been installed as public enemy No1 in some quarters following his separation from his pop-star wife, Cheryl.

Cole has three years to run on his contract at Stamford Bridge and he loves playing for Chelsea but cannot tolerate the manner in which his private life has been placed under the most unforgiving of microscopes. Quite simply, He is unable to live his life and friends believe the situation has become so bad that he would seriously consider a move to a leading club on the continent.

Real Madrid, who are managed by Cole's former manager at Chelsea, José Mourinho, have an interest in him, although they have yet to make any official contact with the relevant figures at Stamford Bridge. Cole has maintained a good relationship with Mourinho. Buck, however, is not only adamant that Cole is not for sale but he is determined to work with the player to help him to find and enjoy some tranquillity off the pitch.

"Ashley is a superb player. He is a delight to deal with around the football club, he gets on very well with everyone, he trains very well and he is really a model athlete," Buck said. "Obviously, he is not happy with how his private life has become the focus of everything around him and I think we'd like to work with him so that he has a bit of a lower profile. We don't think the problem will change if he went to somewhere else outside of the UK, so I think we want to work with him here to make his personal life more enjoyable."

Buck was asked whether there was the recognition at Chelsea that Cole needed such help. "We say to all our players that might have personal issues that we want to help them as much as we can and even Carlo [Ancelotti, the manager] has said that on several occasions," Buck replied. "There is a limit to what we can do but obviously we want to support our players and we want them to be happy not only on the pitch but also in their private lives. If you are not happy in your private life, it's hard to focus on your professional life."

Were Cole to decamp to Madrid, for example, it is unlikely that the paparazzi would leave him alone, knowing that he might continue to make the news in the United Kingdom. It could even make the situation worse. Buck added he was "not worried" that the intrusion and controversy would drive Cole away. "Ashley Cole is not for sale," he said. "That's the bottom line on that. There's no doubt that he's going to be a Chelsea player this season."

Buck had a similar message over Didier Drogba, in the wake of one of the striker's advisors claiming to have had "direct contact" with Manchester City over a possible move for the striker to Eastlands. Thierno Seydi's comments have been rubbished by City and greeted with faint amusement behind the scenes at Chelsea.

"The club position is pretty straightforward," Buck said. "Didier had the golden boot, Didier had a great season, Didier is an important part of our plans for this season and the future and he is not for sale."

Chelsea have grown weary of being linked to every big name in world football and the latest one came today, when the Brazilian club Santos said they had rejected a bid from Stamford Bridge for the highly rated 18-year-old striker Neymar. Reports in Brazil said that the offer to the club was in the region of £17m.

Buck admitted Chelsea were "looking at some things", having released Joe Cole, Michael Ballack and Juliano Belletti, and with Deco being heavily linked with a move to his native Brazil. Yossi Benayoun, signed from Liverpool, is the club's only summer acquisition thus far, but Buck does not envisage "anything major" in terms of transfers.

"We're very happy with the squad we have now," Buck said, "so if there are any more additions, it will be fine-tuning. Whether or not they'll work out, who knows? We'll just see how it goes over the next six weeks."

Chelsea Insist That Didier Drogba Is Not For Sale Amidst Manchester City Rumours

English champions Chelsea have released a statement indicating that star striker Didier Drogba is staying put at Stamford Bridge.

This follows media speculation on Tuesday suggesting that Manchester City were lining up a bid for the player.

Drogba's agent, Thierno Seydi, said in a radio interview that he had had contact with City.

However, this claim was refuted by the Citizens on Tuesday and now Chelsea themselves have stated that 'the Drog' is not for sale.

"It is all irrelevant, Didier Drogba is not for sale," said a Chelsea spokesman, according to Sky Sports.

Drogba was a key player in the Blues' Premier League success last season.

Real Madrid Prepared To Sweeten Ashley Cole Deal By Offering Kaka To Chelsea

Real Madrid are prepared to break Chelsea's resolve to keep Ashley Cole by offering Brazil superstar Kaka in exchange, according to The Mirror.

The England World Cup 2010 left back is understood to be determined to leave the country due to the press attention following his split from wife, Cheryl. After bringing him to the Blues in 2006, new Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho is reported to be ready to seize the chance to have a reunion with the former Arsenal player.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has declared he has no intention of letting Cole go even for a reported £30 million. This position could be weakened, however, if Kaka was sent to Stamford Bridge in an exchange.

The attacking midfielder endured a debut campaign of disappointment at the Bernabeu after suffering a decline in form and fitness. Ancelotti brought the best out of the £56 million signing at AC Milan and could be tempted by the opportunity bringing the best out of him again.

Chelsea Could Join Manchester United & Manchester City In Race To Sign Inter Striker Mario Balotelli

Chelsea are believed to be lining up a late bid to sign Inter forward Mario Balotelli, should their pursuit of Liverpool hitman Fernando Torres end in a failure to sign the Spaniard.

The 19-year-old Balotelli endured a difficult time under former boss Jose Mourinho, as he was frozen out of the squad on numerous occasions - including a Champions League game against Chelsea.

And despite the appointment of a new manager in the form of Rafael Benitez, the rising star is still being linked with a move away from the San Siro. The Spaniard was recently non-committal about whether or not the former Lumezzane man is set for an exit from the Milan-based club.

Now The Daily Mail reports that the west London club is closely monitoring the situation surrounding the young set-piece specialist's future, as an alternative if they are unable to land Liverpool forward Torres.

Inter were previously reported to be asking £34 million for Balotelli.

Chelsea Fail To Get Neymar From Santos

Chelsea have had a £17million offer for Brazilian teenager Neymar rejected by his club Santos.

The Brazilians claimed Chelsea tabled a bid for the youngster yesterday but it was turned down by Santos, who insists they want £30m for the player regarded as one of the most promising prospects to come out of the country in years.

Chelsea have been following striker Neymar, 18, for a year, and West Ham last week failed with a bid.

Chelsea are also chasing Liverpool star Fernando Torres but Neymar, who has scored 27 goals in all competitions since the turn of the year, would fit the bill of bringing in the world’s best youngsters to the club.

Mourinho Plots Bid For Chelsea Star

Jose Mourinho is preparing another attempt to land Ricardo Carvalho, this time for new club Real Madrid.

The former Blues boss tried to land the Portuguese defender last summer only for the proposed deal to fall through but Chelsea might be more open to an offer in the vicinity of £5million this time round.

Another of Carvalho's former team-mates at Porto, midfielder Deco, also seems finally set to leave Stamford Bridge after two seasons, with Fluminese expected to land the Brazilian-born 32-year-old.

Deco said: "It's been 13 years since I left Brazil for playing in Europe. Now I want to go back home and play in my country because I have never been able to win a title there.

"I want to return to Brazil most of all because of personal reasons but I am still in contract at Chelsea and I have to resolve that.

"Without doubt I know that I owe it to my career to win a title in Brazil. I expect to have my situation resolved before July 26 for being able to travel to Brazil as soon as possible."

Cech A Doubt For Chelsea Opener After Injuring Calf In Training

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech suffered a calf injury in training on Tuesday and could be ruled out for the champions' first Premier League game of the season against West Bromwich Albion.

The Czech Republic international pulled up while running during a session at the club's training ground in Cobham and was taken for a scan to determine the damage with his right leg covered in a protective boot.

Cech, 28, fears the injury could be a recurrence of the tear he suffered last season during the first leg of the Champions League tie with Internazionale in Milan. The injury ruled him out for four weeks during a vital stage of the season and he missed five games, including the return leg against Inter in which Chelsea were eliminated.

Chelsea, whose next game is a friendly against Ajax on Friday, will play against Manchester United in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on 8 August before starting the defence of their Premier League title against West Brom on 14 August.

Sturridge Stepping Up

Despite being one of Chelsea's more senior players at Crystal Palace on Saturday, Daniel Sturridge remains a relative youngster in the first team squad.

The 20-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge a year ago after leaving Manchester City, and has made steady progress in that time, picking up the first medals of his professional career.

As he explained to the Official Chelsea Website, merely being in the presence of some of his team-mates has aided his development.

'I think all the players have helped me, in some way or another. They all give their input, and the little things that you need to hear,' said the forward.

'It helps a lot, we have a lot of world-class players here, and they always will help the younger players progress in every way possible. This is a good club to learn things off the bigger players.

'As time goes on, those things you learn go into your game, and you end up becoming a better player just off natural instinct. Just training with these players makes you a better player, and the skills that you learn are a huge bonus on the field.'

Now he hopes to put into practice on a regular basis what he has picked up over the past 12 months, and he feels he is not alone in knocking on the door for a regular place. An early pre-season with our World Cup players missing is the perfect opportunity to impress Carlo Ancelotti, who fielded only six players aged 21 or over against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

'Hopefully, now is the time for me to step up and show what I've learned from last season, and to show everyone what I can do,' Sturridge said.

'We have a load of good, young players - Jeffrey Bruma, Patrick van Aanholt, Gael Kakuta - that can step in, they just need an opportunity.

'They need a lot of patience, also, in actually getting into the team, because it's not easy. Now is just one of those situations where a lot of players get their chance, and they're all working very hard. We've got a lot of players here that can make the grade, and all the young players should get an opportunity to show that.'