Mikel Seeks More Silverware

John Obi Mikel insists he is purely focused on helping Chelsea win more silverware, despite his first team place being under threat by new signing Ramires.

Mikel's role in the Blues side will come under serious scrutiny this term following the Brazilian midfielder's move to Stamford Bridge from Benfica last week.

The £18.2million signing is capable of playing anywhere in the Chelsea engine room, but is likely to vie with the Nigerian international for the holding role in Carlo Ancelotti's first XI.

Mikel, who scooped his first Premier League winners' medal last year, is only concentrating on helping the club retain their domestic title however.

"I feel at home at Chelsea," said Mikel, who also paid to tribute to coach Ancelotti for his faith in him last season. "When I signed I was only 19 and looking back I have really enjoyed my four years at the club.

"In that time I have learned a lot, gained more experience and I know how to read the game better. After all that time playing for a team like this in a league like this, you'll always be better for it.

"I'm very happy playing under Carlo Ancelotti. After a season together I feel I know him well. He's a manager I can speak to, in many ways he's like a father. He gives me great confidence.

"Winning the Premier League was the big one to add to my list. I had won every other domestic trophy since arriving at Chelsea in the summer of 2006.

"But it took until May this year to get my first Premier League winners' medal. It's fantastic to have been able to win all those things by the age of 23 but I suppose that is the benefit of starting your career early.

"I know there are a lot of great players out there who haven't won any of those things. I feel very happy and very blessed. The next one to add is the Champions League."

Mikel expects Manchester United and Manchester City to push the Blues harder than ever this season but insists the side is even more determined to finish top.

They began the campaign with a stunning 6-0 victory over newly promoted West Brom and now travel to face Wigan, who were beaten 4-0 by newcomers Blackpool.

But Mikel added: "It's going to be another very tough season. United will be hungry to win the title back. I think City will be up there but we want it just as much, if not more, and it will be our job to try to keep it.

"For me, once I've won something, I want to keep it.

"We only won the Premier League a couple of months ago but already I feel like it didn't happen.

"Just because you have won something it doesn't mean you lose that hunger. I still have a desire to win all the competitions in which we play. It's the only way to be in my opinion.

"Truly great teams win things multiple times and that's what I want Chelsea to do."

Jack Rodwell 'May Be Tempted By Chelsea Transfer''

Chelsea are thought to be preparing a £16million bid for Everton starlet Jack Rodwell in the hope of tempting the player to Stamford Bridge before the transfer window closes.

According to reports, the Blues are keen on adding to their quota of home-grown players before the end of the month.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti has singled out Rodwell for praise, describing the midfielder as "a good player".

And now it seems the Italian wants to test the resolve of both the player and his club by making a significant bid - despite Rodwell having just signed an extended contract at Goodison Park recently.

Rodwell, 19, is tipped to break into the England international set-up this season, and is hoping to do with plenty of first-team football at the Toffees under David Moyes.

As a result, he is expected to reject the option of joining the London club even if Everton are made an offer they cannot refuse, which is expected to be anything over £20million.

Rodwell would likely find himself playing in Chelsea's reserves this season, with the likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Jon Obi Mikel, and new signing Ramires all ahead of him in the pecking order.

Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich Denies Reports Of Vitesse Takeover

Roman Abramovich's spokesperson from his private investment company Millhouse LLC has informed Goal.com that a report of the Chelsea owner taking over Vitesse is untrue.

Georgian businessman Merab Jordania was said to have taken over Eredivisie outfit Vitesse earlier this week, but according to a report in Quote, it’s none other than Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich who is behind the deal.

The financial magazine claimed that Jordania is little more than a puppet for Abramovich, quoting an anonymous friend of the Russian, who reportedly stated: “De facto, it is Roman who has bought Vitesse.”

It has been suggested that players from Chelsea’s reserve and youth teams could soon be making their way to Arnhem, though young Dutchman Jeffrey Bruma will not be one of them. “He is someone who could end up starting in the future,” the source revealed.

Vitesse are a club who have been plagued by financial difficulties over the last decade and have found times tougher during the recent global economic crisis. As a result, they’ve been forced to shed many first team players and have filled the squad with a number of youngsters.

Exactly why Jordania wanted to invest in an Eredivisie club has not been made clear and has certainly made it easy to cast a shadow over his recent successful takeover of the side who finished 14th in the Netherlands’ top flight last term.

Chelsea Eye Shock Swoop For Sogndal Goalkeeper Piotr Leciejewski

Chelsea are keeping tabs on Sogndal goalkeeper Piotr Leciejewski as manager Carlo Ancelotti looks to boost his squad, according to skysports.com.

Leciejewski, 25, has impressed in the Norwegian second flight since joining in 2008 and has come on the radar of watching scouts.

This summer, reserve shot stoppers Henrique Hilario and Ross Turnbull both failed to impress and a new face could be added to provide competition for Petr Cech.

Speaking to Bergens Tidende, Sogndal chairman Egil Mundal expected a switch to a big club to happen soon for the Pole.

He said: "What I can say is that Piotr has got an enormous potential.

"We know it's a question of time before he will play on a bigger stage."

Santos Slap €35m Price Tag On Neymar To Ward Off Chelsea Interest

Chelsea officials are apparently considering withdrawing their offer to sign Brazilian starlet Neymar from Santos, according to a report from The Independent, after the teenager's club offered to make him their highest paid player.

Santos has also apparently informed Chelsea that the Londoners must pay a €35 million transfer fee or miss out on the player.

The Santos president, Luis Alvaro Oliveira, has reportedly briefed the Brazilian media that there will be no shifting from that asking price for the 18-year-old.

The player himself is understood to be reluctant to move to a club where he wil play in the reserves, with the main impetus for the move believed to be coming from the player's father and agent, Wagner Ribeiro.

Neymar's representatives are set to respond to the Santos offer this week. The Brazilian club are believed to have made the youngster an offer to increase his wages from 160,000 Brazilian Reais (€70,000) a month to R$600,000-a-month (€270,000), as well as a share of the club's commercial deals.

Chelsea are understood to already have had an offer of €20m rejected and are prepared to go as high as €28m.

Mano Menezes, the new Brazil coach, declared this week that he felt Neymar should not join Chelsea, as the saga surrounding the signing of a relatively unproven player continues.

Ajax To Try And Beat Chelsea To Anderlecht Striker Romelu Lukaku

Ajax are hoping to tempt Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku out of a possible move to Chelsea, according to a report from broadcasters talkSPORT.

The report claims that the Dutch outfit plans to persuade the 17-year-old that the chance to become a star in the Netherlands is better for him at this stage of his career than a spell on the bench at a Premier League club.

The terms of the deal would apparently be a small fee to be paid by Ajax, with a huge sell-on clause in the youngster's contract that would see Anderlecht well rewarded for their development of the player.

Lukaku was pictured this summer at Stamford Bridge wearing a Chelsea shirt, but the Blues are not the only European giants interested in acquiring his services.

Real Madrid, Arsenal and Barcelona are also believed to be interested in the player, though his agent has also insisted that he is too young to move to such a huge club.

That has alerted Ajax, who believe they can offer the Belgian Under-21 international a chance to develop within their famed youth system.

Reserves Beaten By Rovers

Chelsea's reserve side was beaten 3-1 by Blackburn's second string at Cobham on Wednesday afternoon, as Steve Holland's side completed its pre-season program.

Chelsea had the better of the opening exchanges, as captain Fabio Borini and Franco Di Santo both curled narrowly wide.

The Italian then struck a post before his Argentine strike partner gave the Blues the lead with a fine solo goal.

Picking up a loose ball on the edge of the Rovers area, Di Santo danced in and out of several challenges before toe-poking in off the far post.

At the other end Ross Turnbull saved well from experienced forward Jason Roberts, using his feet to divert the ball away, and then tipping a goal-bound header on to the crossbar.

Blackburn levelled when Aaron Doran sent a rocket straight into the far top corner from some 25 yards, and within two minutes the visitors were in front, as the robust Roberts held off Billy Clifford to slot beneath the advancing Turnbull.

Eight minutes into the second period Rovers doubled the lead from close range, Roberts the scorer again as they took a grip on the game after Chelsea's bright start.

Jacob Mellis almost pulled a goal back when he sent a vicious shot against the post from outside the box, and then Josh McEachran half-volleyed against the bar after Gokhan Tore had set him up.

The last chance of the game came from a Chelsea corner taken by Tore from the left, but Michael Mancienne sent his free header wide of the far post.

Coming To Terms With Work Permits

Carlo Ancelotti, Ray Wilkins and club secretary David Barnard were at offices in Wembley Stadium on Thursday. It was a fruitful visit because a day later the following was announced:

'Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce we have completed the signing of Brazilian international Ramires from Benfica on a four-year contract.

'The midfielder was granted a work permit on Thursday and finalized his medical in London on Friday afternoon.'

The Chelsea delegation had been present at a panel which granted Ramires that permit but a panel is not involved in all permits, nor are work permits required for all non-British players brought in by the club.

Work permits are not a football-specific regulation. They are part of the rules governing all workers and are operated by the UK Border Agency.

As a member state of the European Union, workers (including professional footballers) from all EU countries (and the other nations that make up the European Economic Area) can ply their trade in the UK without the need for a permit.

For Ramires, as a South American, the rules are different, as they are for Russian nationals, as they are for Africans etc. A permit must be assigned before he can pull on a blue shirt and take to the Stamford Bridge pitch for real match action.

So who gets given the vital piece of paper and who doesn't? It is all about quality.

Incoming non-EU players must be of sufficient standard to make a significant contribution to the football of the country. To be considered good enough to do that, the authorities in consultation with various football bodies agreed a set of criteria.

The player must have played for his country in at least 75 per cent of its competitive 'A' team matches he was available for selection, during the two years preceding the application for a permit. Injury and suspension is taken into consideration.

The player's country must be at or above 70th place in the official Fifa World Rankings when averaged over the two years preceding the date of application.

Due to that second stipulation you might play every match for Canada, for example, but you would not initially be given a permit. Canada currently sit 101st in the Fifa Rankings. That is not the end of it though, as it wasn't for Ramires and Chelsea despite our new midfielder not reaching the 75 per cent international appearance mark.

The next step is the previously-mentioned panel which includes representatives of football governing bodies and independent experts. It considers whether the player is of the highest calibre and whether the player is able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in England. A majority positive vote is required to approve a permit application.

If our theoretical Canadian is one of his nation's finest then he may well still gain access to England's leagues.

There have been changes to procedure down the years. At one time the salary the player was commanding affected the granting of a permit and a new application was needed each year.

The late Tony Banks, Chelsea fan and then Minister for Sport was involved in the announcement of the current criteria for football in 1999.

And speaking English is now a consideration due to changes to the national regulations across all areas of work in 2008.

There is now a need to demonstrate competency in the language to obtain a permit for the length of the player's contract (up to three years). Should that not be possible then the permit is initially for 12 months only with competency in English needed at the end of that time. Transfer is then made to the full-length permit.

This is a process Yury Zhirkov has undergone and been successful and Ramires will come to in time.

Renewal at the end of a permit period is possible if the original criteria are still met. Should a player's international appearances have dropped below the required 75 per cent in that time then a panel hearing is available.

Football may be involved in setting down and operating the work permit system for the sport but permits are more a government than a football requirement. Each nation will decide its rules. There is not standardization across the international game.

The possibility is there for a foreign player to have spent years at a club in another EU country, yet be unable to transfer to England and play in our league.