Chelsea Name Reduced Squad

Chelsea has included just four 'home-grown' players in their 19-man matchday squad for this season.

Under new rules this campaign, Premier League clubs must register a minimum of eight players who have trained for three years with any English or Welsh outfit before the age of 21 if the full 25-man quota is used.

Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti has instead submitted a reduced party in which John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Ross Turnbull are the only 'home-grown' names.

Amongst the 'non home-grown' players are Stamford Bridge stars such as Didier Drogba, the top goalscorer in the Premier League last season, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka.

Top flight clubs had to make their squad selections by 5pm on Wednesday following the closure of the summer transfer window.

The Blues have opted against the big-spending antics of some of their Premier League rivals this summer, making just two captures in the form of midfield duo Ramires and Yossi Benayoun, who have both been named in the squad.

In addition to the named line-up, Ancelotti can call upon unlimited players aged 21 or under, with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Jeffrey Bruma and Gael Kakuta at his disposal.

Chelsea squad: Ashley Cole, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ross Turnbull, Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Michael Essien, Ramires, Yossi Benayoun, Didier Drogba, John Mikel Obi, Florent Malouda, Jose Bosingwa, Yury Zhirkov, Paulo Ferreira, Salomon Kalou, Alex, Henrique Hilario, Nicolas Anelka.

Frank Lampard Happy With Chelsea's Stability And Continuity After Summer Transfer Dealings

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is pleased that there have not been major changes at Stamford Bridge this summer, with continuity so important to maintaining success.

Ramires and Yossi Benayoun have been the major arrivals at the club, with a number of squad members exiting the club, but there has been little change to the core group that won both the Premier League and FA Cup last term.

"Continuity is nice, especially when you have won a double but you do want to add to it and make it better although at the same time you don't want to add to it and make it worse," Lampard told his club's official website.

"There is an element of keeping what you've got and only adding if you are adding better or good squad players.

"Five first-team squad players have left but we have started off very well and we have to keep that going. If we get injuries to big players we hope we have got the cover there."

Lampard also feels that winning the double last season has benefited the squad in terms of collective experience and confidence.

"I don't know about individually, everyone is a bit different. But as a group the double certainly has an effect on collective confidence," he added.

"That is a big positive but the negative is if people think we have won the double, let's rest on our laurels.

"It is very important to keep the confidence but make sure that you never get the feeling that we can easily do that again. The moment you think that then you won't win anything else, so it is a balancing act."

Meanwhile, Lampard feels that the current trend for two holding midfielders in managers' formations is not the one he prefers.

Rather, he feels that one defensive midfielder alongside a more advanced player is more effective.

"Formations do generally go in cycles. In the 90s it was 4-4-2 and then it changed and I think we were probably the instigators as much as anyone in England in making it 4-3-3 when [Jose] Mourinho was in charge," he explained.

"Then because football has become a bit more tactical and organized, it is about becoming harder to beat and teams want two holding midfielders sometimes.

"I personally don't like the system too much. I think one holding midfielder if they are good at their job is enough and I find if you have two in a straight line then it doesn't give you so many angles to play through midfield.

"I always think it is better to have people at different angles which mean one being deeper and the other two taking up different positions [further forward]."

Michael Essien Determined To Emulate Last Season's Achievements

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is determined to lift more silverware this season to make manager Carlo Ancelotti sing in celebration.

Essien, 27, was on the sidelines as the Blues enjoyed a club first Premier League and FA Cup double. After recovering from a knee ligament injury, the Ghana international was determined to help the club to further success at home and in Europe.

Speaking to the club's official website, Essien declared he had his eye on some new additions to the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet.

He said: "I still have memories of the double parade at the end of last season and would love to do it all over again at the end of this season.

"I can't wait to hear the manager sing 'Paa-pa-pa-pa-pa-paa' again. It's the best Italian song I have heard since Pavarotti and it still makes me laugh even watching the DVD now."

The ex-Lyon player added: "As a player, you get the inner feeling that something big is around the corner and I feel the same way I felt last season when we won the double.

"However, I am sure we can go one further and add the big one - the Uefa Champions League trophy - to our collection of trophies.

"Everyone knows how much winning that will mean to us.

"As a team, we have won every domestic trophy and so it's only natural that we have the hunger for the European trophy.

"That is not to say we don't care about the Premier League, FA Cup or Carling Cup. We want to win every competition we enter this season and we will do all we can to win them all."

Chelsea Youngster Jeffrey Bruma Signs New Four-Year Deal

Young Chelsea defender Jeffrey Bruma has signed a new four-year contract to keep him at the club until at least 2014.

The 18-year-old has made four substitute appearances for the Chelsea first team following his arrival in 2007.

Bruma became a professional last summer and since then has made both his full Chelsea and Netherlands debuts whilst also guiding the Chelsea youth team to the FA Youth Cup last season.

Speaking to the club's official website, Bruma said: "I am very happy to stay here."

Bruma thanked the Chelsea staff for recognizing his improvement but conceded that even more improvement would need to be made to stake a claim for a regular first-team spot.

"I have been working to improve all the time I have been here and a next step is getting your next contract, and now it is time to improve again," he said.

"I often speak to [assistant first team coach] Paul Clement because when I came over here as a 15-year-old and was in the youth team, he was the youth team manager. We sit down and lay out a sheet of targets. We did this when we were away in the Champions League in Milan last season.

"I have made my international debut already and that was the aim for two or three years' time. It has come so early and when you reach your targets you obviously have to set new ones, so my new targets are to play as much as I can at Chelsea in the first team and get in the Dutch full squad again as soon as I am fit."

Bruma will now be looking to progress to the Chelsea first-team after appearing in the Carling Cup last year.

The champions allowed Ricardo Carvalho to move to Real Madrid earlier in the transfer window and Bruma could be seen as the long term replacement for the Portuguese international, should his development continue.

Chelsea To Recruit Barca's Director Of Sport

As transfer day limps to its underwhelming conclusion, there are rumours in Spain that Chelsea could be making a new off-pitch signing.

The man in question is Txiqui Begiristain, who would set a new Scrabble record with his first name alone. Txiqui was the Director of Sport at Barca under the previous President, Joan Laporta. Laporta`s mandate ended over the summer, there were elections, and the new bloke, Sandro Rossell did what all newly-elected leaders do, i.e. replacing the previous incumbent’s people with his own. Txiqui, an essential architect of Barca’s success, left the club in June, after 7 years at Barcelona. He made it clear that he was keen to look for pastures new.

And those pastures could be in London, where it is said that Roman Abramovich wants to build a football empire similar to that at Barcelona. Begeristain has there been made an offer that 'cannot be refused`. The man behind this rumour, well-known journalist Guillem Ballagué, says that 'from what I’m told, Txiqui will become the new Director of Football from the beginning of January`.

Ballagué has a mixed record on rumours. On the one hand, he has his entries to a lot of corridors of power in Spanish football. On the other, he has been the man who has broken out some quite excitable cobblers. Fernando Torres to Chelsea was, according to him, a 'done deal`. However, the rumour that Chelsea could be interested in Begeristain has been floating around for some months now.

The rumour would cast doubt on the future of Chelsea’s current 'Director of Football`, Frank Arnesen. If there is a different title in Spain compared to England, Spanish clubs tend to give the title 'Director of Sport` as they tend to cover more than just football. Barcelona, for instance, also has an all-conquering basketball team, as well as a pretty good handball team. Chelsea, of course, only has football.

Arnesen has been given the role of head talent scout, in charge of uncovering football talents. Despite a moderate hype, it is hard to point to many youngsters ready to break into the first team. If anything, for all the reported promise, the kids tend to be locked in the lower levels, leaving on loan deals, but not making the jump to the Chelsea first team. José Mourinho blamed the lack of talented youth in the Chelsea ranks on Frank Arnesen.

On the other hand, the Barcelona model is one that must be attractive to any club. Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Victor Valdes … many of the Barca first team (and most of the 2010 World Cup winning Spanish side) were home grown at the Barcelona school at La Masía, an institution where kids of all levels learn a football philosophy, as well as schooling in life. No wonder that, as well as being extraordinary footballers, they are also well-balanced individuals. It’s a model that is the envy of world football.

And the rumour is that Roman wants to change the club structure to create a new Masía at Chelsea, and he considers that the best person to oversee this project is the one who has had such an impact on the original Masía, Txiqui Begeristain. It would mean changing the way the club does many things, from training to schooling, not to mention the role of the younger levels in relation to the first team, as well as modifying the role of the first-team coach.

And if the rumour is true, it would be a powerful declaration of intent. Watch this space.

Delac Signed On And Loaned Out

Goalkeeper Matej Delac, who turned 18 last month, has signed as a professional for Chelsea and has been loaned for the season to Vitesse Arnhem.

The Croatian had previously been subject to a pre-contract agreement and spent a fortnight training with our first team in December.

He joins from Croatian top-flight side Inter Zapresic where he played in the first team and he represented his nation at the recent European Under 19 Championships.

His side reached the semi-finals before being beaten 2-1 by France. Gael Kakuta was a scorer past our new keeper in that match, the first time Delac had been beaten for three matches in the tournament.

The 6ft 3in keeper joins Serbians Nemanja Matic and Slobodan Rajkovic as Chelsea players on loan at Vitesse who play in the Dutch top division.

Ancelotti Talks With Coaching Elite

While many of his squad are away on international duty, Carlo Ancelotti is also abroad this week for a brainstorming session with other top-level managers.

He is attending the 12th Uefa Elite Club Coaches Forum in Switzerland where he is joined by former Blues bosses Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri, future Champions League opponent Didier Deschamps, Alex Ferguson and Roy Hodgson, plus Barcelona's Pep Guardiola, Auxerre's Jean Fernandez, Schalke's Felix Magath, Benfica's Jorge Jesus, Lyon's Claude Puel, Malaga's Jesualdo Ferreira, Basel's Thorsten Fink, Ajax's Martin Jol, Werder Bremen's Thomas Schaaf and Nikos Nioplias of Panathinaikos.

They are at Uefa headquarters in Nyon where they are will be discussing trends in and concerns about the sport at the highest level.

The Forum began yesterday [Wednesday] and continues today with a press conference given at the conclusion.

Ancelotti follows on from Mourinho and Luiz Felipe Scolari who were delegates at the Forum whilst Chelsea manager.