Chelsea Out To Maintain Perfect Start

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping his side can continue their blazing start to the new Premier League season this weekend when they take on Stoke City at Stamford Bridge.

The champions have scored 12 goals in their first two matches - identical 6-0 scorelines - and the Italian has been hugely satisfied with his side's start.

"We have started well this season, scoring a lot of goals, playing good football," Ancelotti said.

But though they will be big favourites to beat Stoke and maintain their record as the only side in the Premier League with a 100 percent record, Ancelotti knows that sooner or later, it will come to an end.

"It is impossible to think we have to score six goals in a game all the time because this is not real football, this is PlayStation football," he said.

Manchester United, second to Chelsea last year and again looking the most likely contenders, will be out to bounce back from a disappointing 2-2 draw at Fulham last time out.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side is at home to West Ham United on Saturday evening and the Scot knows that dropping points, even so early on in the season, could be costly.

Chelsea Set To Renew Interest In Neymar

Chelsea, in a remarkable twist, are considering reviving their interest in Neymar less than a week after their second bid for the Brazilian striker was rejected and he signed a five-year contract at his club, Santos.

However, since then Chelsea has been given fresh encouragement that a deal for the 18 year-old could still be struck before the end of the transfer window on Aug 31.

A summit meeting was held at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening involving the agent, Pini Zahavi, who has been trying to broker a deal to bring Neymar to the Premier League all summer.

Zahavi was in the United States two weeks ago, along with Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, to meet with Neymar's father, who acts as his son's adviser. He is understood to be unsure whether his son should stay in Brazil despite quadrupling his salary.

This led to claims from Santos that Buck had 'tapped up' Neymar and claims that the club would complain to Fifa. Buck and Chelsea emphatically refute the allegations and no complaint has been made.

Zahavi was in Brazil last week to try to persuade Neymar to sign for Chelsea but, under severe pressure from senior figures in the country's football establishment, including Pele and the new coach Mano Menezes, he agreed to stay.

This also involved an increase in the buy-out clause in his contract from £29 million to £37 million but despite all this Chelsea are considering returning to the negotiating table with a new bid.

An offer of £17 million was flatly rejected in June and Chelsea last week offered £23 million.

Whether they are now prepared to increase that offer remains to be seen but the fact that Zahavi is still negotiating with the Chelsea hierarchy and in a dialogue with Neymar's father and Santos suggests that the deal is not dead.

It may well be that Chelsea are pushing to sign the player for the January transfer window which may appease critics and the public in Brazil. Indeed Neymar's decision to remain at Santos was even praised by the country's prime minister.

Chelsea have been trying to secure a so-called marquee signing all summer with efforts to buy Liverpool striker Fernando Torres floundering despite the Spanish international's advisers indicating he may be ready to quit Anfield.

Neymar is regarded as the hottest young talent in Brazil and despite his age and lack of experience there was an outcry when he was excluded from the World Cup squad.

He scored 14 goals in 19 league games last season and a further 11 in just eight Copa Brasil ties.

He is still quite slight and there are concerns he may struggle to cope with the demands of English football but Chelsea are confident he is a player who can make a big difference to them.

Neymar Will Join Chelsea 'Eventually' Claims Agent

Santos starlet Neymar is likely to join Chelsea at some point in his career, according to the player's international agent.

Chelsea had been keen to sign Brazil international Neymar, 18, this summer, but a bid said to be worth £23 million failed to convince his club to sell and the player has since committed to a new five-year deal.

Neymar, though, has appointed Pini Zahavi to represent him internationally on a two-year deal, and the agent has revived the prospect of a move to Stamford Bridge.

"Neymar will stay with Santos but I'm sure he will become a Chelsea player eventually," he told The Sun. "He loves Santos and wants to win the Copa Libertadores, but Neymar also knows that for his career he needs to move to a big club."

Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro, meanwhile, is eager to tie Paulo Henrique - also known as Ganso - down to a similar deal.

"We'll put together a plan for Ganso before the offers come from abroad, as they did with Chelsea for Neymar," he told Terra. "Paulo Henrique, like Neymar, is a precious gem with great potential. Hopefully he will stay."

Chelsea Consider £8m Move For Monaco Striker Park Chu-Young

Chelsea is considering a move for Monaco striker Park Chu-Young after he impressed for South Korea at the 2010 World Cup, according to The Sun.

The striker's representatives reportedly held talks with Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti ahead of their 6-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on the opening day of the new Premier League season.

Ancelotti is set to decide in the next 48 hours whether to meet Monaco's £8 million asking price for the 25-year-old, and the deal could help Chelsea make a commercial impact in the Far East.

Along with Manchester United midfielder Ji-Sung Park, Park Chu-Young is among the best known sportsmen in the Far East and could prove lucrative in shirt sales and other marketing ventures.

Chelsea Bid £10m For Martin Demichelis, But He Prefers Sevilla

Bayern Munich centre-back Martin Demichelis wants to snub Chelsea for Sevilla.

Chelsea has made a £10million bid for the 29-year-old Argentine, but according to the Mail, he has expressed his preference for the La Liga side.

Demichelis was on the bench in Bayern's 2-1 win against VfL Wolfsburg on Friday, and is said to be eying a move away.

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said he wants keep the player, but Demichelis' agent, Jorge Cyterszpiller, says he could be on his way out.

Football Ferns Skipper Joins Chelsea

New Zealand women's football captain Hayley Moorwood has signed a one-year deal with English giants Chelsea and will play in next year's Super League championship.

The new Football Association-backed Super League launches in March as an eight-team professional league, superseding the FA Women's Premier League as the top women's competition in England.

Chelsea finished third to Arsenal and Everton in the final two seasons of the Premier League, missing out on a place in the 2011 UEFA Women's Champions League by a solitary point in the 2009/10 domestic season.

Moorwood opted for Chelsea despite interest from London rivals Arsenal and now hopes to help the Blues break into the top two.

"Joining a club like Chelsea is an exciting move at an exciting time for women's football in England and back home," Moorwood said.

"The concentration of top English and international talent will make the new Super League a tough competition but hopefully we can mount a challenge for the title and qualify for the 2012 Champions League."

The 51-cap midfielder takes the number of Football Ferns playing professionally overseas to four with German-based VfL Wolfsburg defender Rebecca Smith joined by Ali Riley (FC Gold Prise, USA) and Kirsty Yallop (Kristianstads DFF, Sweden) this year.

"Over the last few years the Ferns have been to a World Cup, the Olympics and other international tournaments and our age group teams are also on the world stage so overseas clubs are seeing our players mixing it with the best players in the world and recognising what we are capable of," Moorwood said.

Football Ferns coach John Herdman expected the number of his players signing professional contacts to increase in line with the rise in number and sustainability of women's professional leagues around the World.

"There are more and more opportunities for our talented players," he said.

"The chances for university scholarships in the USA and international travel are still there and our New Zealand-based players are Sparc-carded athletes but now aspiring young female footballers can look to the likes of Riley, Smith, Yallop and Moorwood being paid to play the game they love as examples of the possibilities."

Moorwood has already begun training with her new team at Chelsea's Cobham-based training grounds - the same facility used by the men's team - but is expected to return to New Zealand in late September to lead the Football Ferns as they attempt to qualify for the 2011 women's World Cup in Germany via the eight-nation OFC women's Nations Cup at North Harbour Stadium from September 29 to October 8.

Mancienne Returns To Wolves

Wolves have signed Michael Mancienne for a third time after the Chelsea defender moved to Molineux on a season-long loan.

Mancienne has enjoyed loan spells with Mick McCarthy's side for the past two seasons, making 10 appearances during the club's 2008/09 Championship winning campaign.

He returned to the club following their promotion to the Premier League last term and proved a versatile performer in making 33 appearances in all competitions.

The 22-year-old, who can also play in midfield, reportedly handed in a transfer request at Stamford Bridge over the summer and that led to speculation of a permanent move to Wolves.

However, McCarthy had stressed that Mancienne would be out of his club's price range and he would only be interested in a loan deal.

McCarthy has now managed to secure a deal for Mancienne and he could go straight into the squad for Saturday's game at home to Newcastle United.

The former England Under-21 international has made just six appearances during his Chelsea career and has not been involved in the 18-man squad for the champions' opening two league matches.

Stoke Determined To Keep Asmir Begovic Out Of Chelsea Clutches

The Stoke chairman is doing his utmost to keep goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, despite heavy interest from Chelsea and claims that the Bosnian refused to play in Tuesday's Carling Cup victory against Shrewsbury to try and force through a move.

'This is an internal matter - and we will decide on what action to take,' Peter Coates told Sky Sports News. "Asmir Begovic remains our player.

"He is regarded as one of the best young goalkeepers in the Premier League and we are not interested in any new offers from Chelsea.

"We are not interested in what Chelsea do and we have already rejected an offer, from them, for Begovic. We wouldn't welcome another bid from Chelsea and, as far as I am aware, we have not received a new offer from Chelsea for him."

Begovic has denied claims he refused to play on Tuesday, citing a misunderstanding.

PFA deputy chief executive Bobby Barnes told Sky Sports News: "The PFA would not condone a player refusing to play for his club.

"But Asmir was at great pains to make it clear to me and the wider public that at no stage had he actually said that he refused to play for the club.

"It's common knowledge now that there has been a bid received. From Asmir's point of view he says that he had a conversation with the manager in which he was asked whether he was 100 per cent fit and ready to play.

"Asmir's take is that he had indicated that his mind was a little bit scrambled by things and that probably if there was an alternative it would be best if he didn't play.

"But he says at no stage did he say that he wouldn't play, and had he been asked to play he would have done so."

Arsenal Fight Chelsea For Stoke Keeper Begovic

It’s a bit late in the day for a new cast member to arrive in the Arsenal goalkeeping soap opera, but that hasn't stopped Metro from announcing that Stoke City's on-strike stopper Asmir Begovic could be the new man between the sticks at the Emirates.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina stopper had already been linked with a move to Chelsea and reportedly refused to train with his team-mates in a bid to force manager Tony Pulis to sell him before the transfer window closes. And now it seems that Arsene Wenger as well as Carlo Ancelotti is interested in buying him.

Arsenal has been linked to almost every keeper in Europe this summer but has failed to land anyone. Now, with just five days left before the transfer window shuts they may be prepared to abandon their chase of Mark Schwarzer, the man most hotly tipped to join the Gunners, in favour of 23-year-old Begovic.