Carlo - Drogba Staying Put

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti says star striker Didier Drogba will definitely not be leaving for Real Madrid.

The Ivory Coast ace, 32, has made himself a legend at Stamford Bridge over the last six years, leading the line with great success in recent seasons.

Drogba has already bagged himself three goals in the Premier League this term, and was the league's top scorer with 29 strikes to his name during the last campaign.

He has been linked with a possible switch to Los Merengues, where he would be reunited with former Blues manager Jose Mourinho, but Ancelotti insists he is going nowhere.

He told Sky Italia: "Drogba to Real Madrid? He is happy to stay here, is happy with his moment and we don't deprive ourselves of a player like him."

Meanwhile, Ancelotti aired his views on two other renowned frontmen, Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is thought to be nearing a move to AC Milan, and new Manchester City signing Mario Balotelli.

The Italian coach admits he tried to sign Ibrahimovic when he was manager of the Rossoneri, and believes Balotelli will do well in England.

He added: "Ibrahimovic to Milan? In 2006 I wanted to take him, then the deal vanished. At Milan he would do well."

While on Balotelli, Ancelotti remarked: "He's very good. City have made a good buy, but I never said I was afraid of him."

Chelsea Target Martin Demichelis

The agent of Argentina and Bayern Munich defender Martin Demichelis claims Chelsea are interested in signing his client.

Demichelis is expected to leave Bayern after asking to be omitted from the squad that faced Wolfsburg on the opening day of the season having learned he had failed to make Louis van Gaal's starting line-up.

Demichelis has been at the club since 2003 and won the domestic Double last season, but Holger Badstuber and Daniel van Buyten were selected ahead of him, with Van Gaal saying: "He won the title last season, but now has been replaced and he must accept that, it's not easy."

Chelsea have sold Ricardo Carvalho to Real Madrid this summer and Demichelis' agent claims the Blues are one of a number of clubs showing an interest in the Argentina international, as well as Italian Juventus.

"I have always had an excellent relationship with Juve," agent Jorge Cyterszpiler told calciomercato.it. "We spoke with Juventus, but they are not the only club interested.

"There are at least four clubs in for the player; as well as the Bianconeri there are also Barcelona, Chelsea and Sevilla. In Italy there is also Fiorentina, Napoli and Roma that have always liked him, but it is outside their budget."

Carlo Denies Burdisso Link

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has denied that he is interested in bringing defender Nicolas Burdisso to the club.

The 29-year-old Argentina international has been linked with a switch from Inter Milan to Stamford Bridge, with reports suggesting Ancelotti is keen to bolster his backline.

However, the Italian coach claims he already has enough defenders at his disposal and the player's agent has also revealed no approach has been made.

Ancelotti told Sky Italia: "Burdisso at Chelsea? It's not true. We have three defenders at the highest level."

Meanwhile, Burdisso's agent Fernando Hidalgo told vocegiallorossa.it: "Chelsea's offer for Burdisso? No, I have received no proposal from the management of the London club about Burdisso.

"We will do everything to bring back Nicolas to Roma and we will try to reach an agreement until we'll have opportunity and time to do it."

Burdisso spent last season on loan with Inter's Serie A rivals Roma and he proved a hit at the Stadio Olimpico.

Wigan Athletic Set To Land Chelsea FC Striker

Chelsea FC striker Franco di Santo is reportedly on the verge of joining Wigan Athletic on loan.

The young Blues hitman is expected to agree to a loan move to the DW Stadium before Latics take on Tottenham on Saturday.

With Latics having failed to score in either of their two opening games, boss Roberto Martinez is looking to add firepower to his forward line.

He is also expected to bring in the Mexican and former Hammers marksman Guillermo Franco.

Ramires Looking To Have Big Impact On Chelsea's Bid For Another Premier League Title

New Chelsea midfielder Ramires is hoping to help his new team on their way to a second consecutive Premier League title.

The Brazil international came to the Blues from Benfica for £18.2 million after impressing at the World Cup in South Africa this summer.

Ramires is looking forward to making his first appearance for Chelsea, and the Brazilian insists that Carlo Ancelotti could hand him his debut against Stoke City on Saturday.

“I cannot wait to play my first game for Chelsea. I've spoken to the manager and that could happen this Saturday,” Ramires told The Mirror.

"My debut will be incredible for me because I've always dreamed of this chance. It will be a great moment for me.

"Chelsea have begun the season like a locomotive engine but the season is long and the matches are not always easy. For me, Chelsea is the favourite for the title and I want to be in the starting XI. That is my target."

The Brazilian is settling into his new home city, and Ramires is hoping that he will find great success during his time in London.

"London is wonderful. I have visited the city with my wife Islana and its enormous and very interesting.

"I want to be a success in the Premier League, stay for a long time and enjoy my football on the pitch.

"I am working hard every day in training hoping to get my opportunity. To play at Stamford Bridge in front of the fans will be perfect.”

Ancelotti Admits Abramovich Cut Up Over Shevchenko Flop

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti admits club owner Roman Abramovich took personally the failure of Andriy Shevchenko at Stamford Bridge.

In his new book, 'The Beautiful Games of an Ordinary Genius', which is being serialised in the News of the World, Ancelotti details his first meetings with Abramovich as he was considered for the Blues job.

Their first meeting was in May 2008 at hotel in Geneva.

"Abramovich wanted to know everything about me, about the way I work, about my philosophy," said Ancelotti. "He was looking for a team with a clear identity. As he told me: 'Like Manchester United, Liverpool, or Milan - certainly not my Chelsea.'"

Two weeks later, at the Hotel George V in Paris - and after an embarrassing encounter in the lobby with a rival candidate - Ancelotti sat down once more with Abramovich and his entourage.

Ancelotti recalled the conversation: "The inevitable question: How would I change the way Chelsea plays, if we were to come to an understanding?

"'Chairman, your team is very physical, they need to field a more diverse array of skills.' I come up with a couple of names, Franck Ribery and Xabi Alonso, players that would give the team an advantage.

"He comes up with a third name: Andriy Shevchenko - a player he clearly cares about deeply.’I can't figure out why he's not playing, ever since we brought him to England, he's just not the real Sheva anymore, I don't know why he's having so much trouble.'

"He's not intimidating, even when he says to me, with a slight catch in his voice: 'Look, we just lost out on the Champions League finals, we just got bounced out of the championship, I have nothing to be happy about. Chelsea just seems to lack personality. My ambition is to win every game my team plays, but right now I just don't recognize my team.'

"He cares very much about winning and about playing the game with style."

Pat Nevin: Speaking Volumes

It was the best of times, it was, well the best of times. Obviously Charles Dickens wasn't thinking of Chelsea's current form when he started A Tale of Two Cities, but what else can you say after winning the double and starting the next season with two incredible 6-0 wins?

There must be a number of reasons why the play is just so fluent at the moment. Clearly this group of players knows each other's strengths incredibly well, there is now an understanding that is bordering on telepathic with quite a few lads in the team.

There is also happily a willingness to strive to stay right at the top from just about every single member of the group. A few stinging articles during and after the World Cup have only served to strengthen the resolve of those who it had been suggested were not only over the hill, but tumbling down the other side at a rate of knots.

Realistically there will be dips in form this season, there always are after a World Cup year. Quite a few players, not only at Chelsea, haven't had enough time to rest and recover from the previous season, so niggling injuries will also become a problem. At the moment however, it is all fun in the sun with no one feeling any pain.

Fun also appears to be one of the important things in the Chelsea team at the moment. The spirit is clearly at an incredible level between the lads, the giveaway comes with the reaction to, and the celebration of, the goals.

A prime example came with the second goal against Wigan at the weekend. Nic Anelka buried it beautifully in the bottom corner and the players nearest him went to celebrate with the scorer, but the reaction of the midfielders and defenders to Mikel for his fantastic, raking, 50 yard, pinpoint pass was a joy to see.

John Terry looks as delighted as if he has scored the winner in the Champions League final himself. This is not a forced or selfish reaction, this is the generous reaction of man who deeply cares about his team mate. Mikel is duly swamped by everyone around him after the goal and it speaks volumes for what they feel about a player who isn't usually the most celebrated of the group.

Now I will own up that I was maybe a little surprised by the quality and the vision of the pass. I am hopefully not being too disrespectful but it was a pass you would expect to be played by a Lampard, Scholes or a Beckham. Now that we know he has got that in his locker, maybe he should try it a little more often. As sitting midfielder his first job is to break up play and then give the ball to the known creative types, but that moment of adventure allied to the confidence he gained from his mates smothering him might just lead to a boost in confidence.

Of course Didier Drogba couldn't let it lie and decided to get in on the act, spraying a few balls from one side of the pitch to the other with deadly accuracy, just to show that he can do it too, even if he is not exactly renowned for it either. Didier's pass for Kalou's goal was even better however because of the unselfishness of the act. Having picked the ball up on the half way line and powered past their entire defence, you might have excused him from having a pop from 20 yards himself, it would have been a goal of the season contender. He didn't do that, he elected to do the right thing and slip his countryman through for a tap in. It was brilliant, selfless and the work of a team player.

It summed up for me why the Blues are looking just so good right now. Everyone is thinking of the group, there is an unselfishness to the play and to the glory, it is all shared equally. From the outside you might think every team should be like that, but in reality it is rarely the case. Footballers are winners and there is an inbuilt self serving part of being a champion in sport, even if it is a team game. The trick is to get the balance right between egocentricity and shared goals, right now they are doing just that and much of the praise must go to the manager for getting the mix just right.