Philliskirk Makes Loan Move

Oxford manager Chris Wilder has boosted his attacking options by bringing in Chelsea youngster Danny Philliskirk on loan.

The 19-year-old will spend a month at the League Two side and is likely to be given a run-out in Monday's pre-season friendly against Banbury United.

Philliskirk - who can play as a second striker or in midfield - started his career at Oldham before then Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho took him to Stamford Bridge for an undisclosed fee.

Wilder feels the former England Under-17 international will be a useful addition to the ranks and told the club's official website: "He's a young prospect I saw at Oldham as a kid and then Chelsea bought him for quite big money.

"It comes to a stage at 19 where he maybe needs to go and get involved with a senior club. He is a young boy but I think maybe people underestimate the level we are playing at now.

"We felt we needed an extra body in and he will benefit from the time here. Chelsea play three up front so he is used to playing in that. If he does well then he has a great opportunity here."

Ian Holloway Wants To Be Reunited With Chelsea Striker Scott Sinclair

Premier League new boys Blackpool are stepping up their efforts to sign Chelsea forward Scott Sinclair.

Championship duo Ipswich and Swansea have also made enquiries about the 21-year-old who has been at Stamford Bridge for five years but made just one top-flight start.

Sinclair was on loan at Wigan last season, making 22 first-team appearances but only five in the starting line-up.

The previous season he was at Birmingham and he has also been loaned to Crystal Palace, Charlton, QPR and Plymouth, where current Blackpool boss Ian Holloway was manager at the time.

Holloway, who also tried to sign Sinclair in February 2008 when he was in charge at Leicester, has been quiet in the transfer market since the Tangerines won promotion.

But he is hoping the fact that he has worked with Sinclair previously will help him to complete a deal in time for the big kick-off on Saturday week.

Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers also knows Sinclair well from his time as Chelsea's reserve team boss.

Bath-born Sinclair made his debut at the age of 15 for first club Bristol Rovers and played just one more game before he was sold to the Blues in July 2005.
Ipswich boss Roy Keane sees Sinclair as the ideal player to add pace and power to the Tractor Boys' lightweight attack.

But the lure of playing in the Premier League for a manager he knows well makes Blackpool overwhelming favourites for his signature.

Another reason why he is likely to prefer to relocate to the north west is that his girlfriend, Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan, is based there.

Ramires Set For Stamford Bridge Medical

Chelsea's ongoing bid to sign Brazilian midfielder Ramires for around £18 million is edging ever closer as he is set to undergo a medical at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Ramires, who played at the 2010 World Cup, claimed in July that Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti was trying to sign him and a four-year deal is reported to be in the pipeline.

However, earlier on Tuesday it was claimed that a third party holds 50% ownership of the player and that the issue was delaying the transfer as the investors want the maximum return on their asset. It is also against Premier League rules for any third party to retain an interest in a player.

"There is nothing yet," Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira was quoted as saying. "But Ramires staying doesn't depend solely on us. There is a partnership and we must respect that. If there is a good proposal, we will do everything we can to make it work for us. We are prepared for everything and have options to fill all the positions to make sure we strengthen."

Ancelotti is eager to add Ramires to his squad after releasing both Michael Ballack and Joe Cole in the summer.

Benfica Admit They Can Do Little To Keep Chelsea Target Ramires

Midfielder Ramires looks more and more likely to sign for Chelsea with Benfica admitting that they don’t wholly control the destiny of the Brazilian.

World Cup star Ramires claimed at the end of July that Carlo Ancelotti's Premier League champions had bid for his services. Ramires could be an ideal replacement for both Michael Ballack and Joe Cole after the pair left Chelsea.

The 23-year-old missed Benfica's friendly win over Aston Villa on Sunday as talks continued, with the Portuguese side admitting they only have a minimal say in his future after selling 80 per cent third-party ownership to several investors.

Club president Luis Felipe Vieira is quoted as saying in The Sun, "Ramires staying at Benfica does not depend solely on us. There is a partnership and we must respect it.

"If there is a good proposal we will do everything we can to make it work for us. We are prepared for all eventualities and have options to fill all the positions."

Ramires said earlier in July that he had set his heart on a 'dream' move to Chelsea, Barcelona or Real Madrid.

Drogba Could Play In Community Shield

Didier Drogba has given Chelsea a major Community Shield boost by coming through his first full training session.

The Ivory Coast striker had been expected to miss the start of the new season after finally undergoing his long-delayed groin surgery 10 days ago.

But Drogba has made huge progress and was able to take part in a full work-out with Carlo Ancelotti's squad in Frankfurt.

Drogba is now poised to play a part in tomorrow's friendly with Hamburg and if he emerges unscathed is set to lead the Chelsea line at Wembley on Sunday.

Ancelotti said: "Didier could play against Hamburg. He is healing very quickly."

No Guarantees For Man City - Kalou

Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou has warned Manchester City that their summer spending spree will not guarantee them the Barclays Premier League title.

City boss Roberto Mancini has spent over £70million on signing Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng, Alexander Kolarov and David Silva as he looks to wrest the league title from the Chelsea. Kalou admits he expects City to improve on their fifth place last season, but insists their new arrivals will take time to gel into a team capable of winning the championship.

"It doesn't mean because you bring in 10 new players that you will be top of the table," the 24-year-old said on chelseafc.com. "There are teams like Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal who will always be near the top."

He added: "Manchester City will do great because they have brought some good players in but at the end of the day it's what happens on the pitch, and having new players doesn't guarantee a win."

Benayoun: Enjoying Everyday

Yossi Benayoun believes he is settling well into life as a Chelsea player, and hopes to quickly prove his worth on the pitch.

The Israeli international is in Germany with the rest of the squad at present, and has already sung his initiation song, a rapidly-heckled version of Liverpool anthem You'll Never Walk Alone before switching into Hebrew.

Speaking after training on Tuesday, Benayoun outlined his desire to show his abilities in our final friendly against Hamburg on Wednesday evening.

'I feel very good. From the first moment they gave me a good feeling like I am already a long time here,' he said, speaking of his new team-mates. 'I am enjoying every day and getting closer to everyone. I am sure I will have a great time here and hopefully we will be successful.'

The 30-year-old made his Chelsea bow against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday, with a promising 45-minute display. He hopes to be fully operational shortly.

'I trained with the team for the first few days but had an injury with my groin, so I was resting for a week and came back only a few days ago to train. I am sure soon I will be fit enough.'

Benayoun arrives to take the number 10 jersey, made available following Joe Cole's departure and subsequent arrival at our new man's former club, Liverpool. Despite their similar playing styles, Benayoun is hopeful that obvious comparisons are not drawn.

'I don't think about it. My favourite number is 15, but it is not available!' he smiled. 'I don't like to compare myself to another player, I come here to do my best and hopefully it will be good enough. Joe is in Liverpool, I wish him the best, I think he is a great player.'

Another Cole, Ashley, is currently being linked with a move away from Chelsea, but with Carlo Ancelotti having insisted the left-back is staying, Benayoun is confident the England man will remain a team-mate.

'It is always like this in clubs, you always want your best players to stay,' he explained. 'The squad is very strong and it is normal there are offers from other teams, but we really hope Ashley will stay because he is a great player.'

Ancelotti also admitted a possibility that Brazilian midfielder Ramires could be heading to Stamford Bridge, though a deal with his club Benfica remains some way off.

'I don't know, I will speak about Ramires when Ramires will be a Chelsea player,' the manager said after Tuesday's training session. 'Until now he is not a Chelsea player, we hope, but until now nothing is decided.'

The Italian is growing closer to having his line-up for tomorrow's game against Hamburg, and Sunday's Community Shield date with Manchester United, sorted in his mind.

'It is my thought to reward the players that start the game against Manchester United and give them more minutes. It is an important game, the last one of pre-season and we want to check our position physically and tactically before the start of the season.

'I think we need to have more time to be fit because we need above all for the players that came back on 26 July it is more difficult to be fit immediately, you have to take your time - a few weeks will be enough to come back to the best condition.'

Temperatures Rise In Training

The squad stayed in Frankfurt on Monday and took part in an intense training session as the sun shone on a warm afternoon.

Following Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Eintracht, the lads were given the morning off to rest before heading back to the Commerzbank Arena complex for a taxing workout on one of the surrounding pitches, joined today by Gael Kakuta who linked up with the squad following his international success with France Under 19s last week.

The first exercise involved three groups, each player having to run out and around a series of poles before running backwards, turning and sprinting to the line, then backwards back out to jump and head a high ball back into the group. If it sounds tough, just imagine what it is like having to do it!

Next up was some ball work, the group split into four teams on two pitches, the sole aim to maintain possession in your confined area.

Carlo Ancelotti then blew his whistle, marking the end of the high-octane possession exercises before beginning two-on-two attack with one group, which also tested his keeper's abilities between the posts. Meanwhile the second group got down to a game of five-a-side under the watchful gaze of Ray Wilkins.

By now there was an audience, made up of adidas competition winners, who watched the world-class players prepare for Wednesday's clash with Hamburg and another Barclays Premier League campaign.

The session also sparked interest from the locals, who lined up alongside the surrounding fences to catch a glimpse of the Blues in practice.

The manager soon incorporated a few more players in a four-on-four session, with one side defending, the other attacking, while Sam Walker performed his duties between the posts.

He was soon replaced by Hilario, whose quick reactions twice denied Didier Drogba from finding the net, before Ross Turnbull took up the position. Drogba completed the full session following an individual post-match workout yesterday.

Once the session was over the players met some of the awaiting fans, signing autographs and posing for pictures before making their way back to the team hotel.

There, 22-year-old defender Michael Mancienne discussed his pre-season progress, having had his first game involvement on Sunday afternoon following a thigh injury.

'To be honest, even though I was injured I was still doing quite a lot of work with the physios and I was already feeling quite fit and now I'm feeling good,' he said.

'It's very important to get the match sharpness and that's what pre-season does. You need to work hard and do things right. So it works well in preparing you for the season ahead.

'We've come out here to get fitness and get ready for the coming season, and so far it has been very good.'

'For me, this is a different experience to last year because we went to America and a lot of people have come back later because of the World Cup, so we're all at different levels of fitness but everyone is slowly getting there, and the young lads like Josh McEachran and Sam Walker have done well too.'