Alex: Back Among Young

At 28 years of age Alex is all set to be the old man at the heart of the Chelsea defence when the pre-season games kick off tomorrow at Selhurst Park.

John Terry, Ashley Cole, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Branislav Ivanovic are all yet to return to training following World Cup action and Jose Bosingwa has yet to rejoin full training.

He is in the final stages of recovery from knee surgery so the likes of Michael Mancienne, Sam Hutchinson, Jeffrey Bruma, Patrick van Aanholt and Ryan Bertrand come into the frame for defensive positions alongside the Brazilian for the match at Crystal Palace.

Several possible combinations have been worked upon in training Alex reports.

'It is good to start the pre-season games after two weeks everyday with training,' he tells the Official Chelsea Website.

'We start with what I think is a difficult game and we don't have many of the other players here yet, but we have a good group with the reserve team coming in to play a part and it is important to win the first game of pre-season.

'It is good for us in training games because the young players never stop running,' he smiles. 'They are always up and down the pitch and it is good for your condition. You always have to pay attention.

'It has been good working together with players like Jeffrey and Michael Mancienne who are sometimes also as left back and right back.'

Alex as much as anyone is pleased to have joined the preparations from day one having seen this stage disrupted by injury the last two years.

'When I arrived here two weeks ago the doctors spent one training session with me in the morning but I felt good and I trained normally. I had a problem the last two pre-seasons but this season it's very good.

The Future In France

The international football continues to come thick and fast as this weekend Chelsea youngsters embark on their pursuit of the Uefa Under-19 championship in northern France.

After coming through two rounds of qualifying, Gael Kakuta (France), Fabio Borini and Jacopo Sala (Italy), Jacob Mellis (England), plus Matej Delac (Croatia) who has signed a pre-contract agreement to join Chelsea, will all be monitored closely by sporting director Frank Arnesen and our Academy staff.

Their involvement follows off the back of having 12 senior internationals representing us at the World Cup in South Africa, a number that would have been higher but for injuries, and England's success at the Under 17 European Championship, in which Josh McEachran and schoolboy Nathaniel Chalobah featured.

'In the last few years we have increased our number of players on the international level very much, and for the Academy last season was fantastic, two players as Under 17 champions, and now players in different teams battling for the Under 19 title in Europe,' says Arnesen.

'These are very important players in their own teams - Mellis has done very well for England, at one stage he played four games and scored in all four. Then we have Borini, the captain of Italy, and Sala, the vice-captain, which is very good.

'If you take Borini, he has already played at Under 21, which is unusual at his age in Italian football. Then we have the host of the tournament, France, and Kakuta. He is one of the most exciting players at this level, he proved that at Under 17 when they lost the Final to Spain.'

Goalkeeper Delac has been a regular in the first team at Croatian side Inter Zapresic for over a year, and has signed a pre-contract agreement so he is due to arrive at Stamford Bridge next season.

'He is not so well known and it will be very good to see him at that level, he has a lot of experience, he has played one-and-a-half years of senior football in Croatia, and is looking good,' Arnesen explains.

'Holland is also qualified but haven't taken Jeffrey Bruma, because the Dutch thinking is that he is already playing regularly at Under 21, he has passed that stage and moved up, so it could have been more players, a fantastic achievement for us I think.'
The former Denmark international goes on to add that for the club it is no problem to release young players at this time of year rather than the busier periods during the calendar.

'It is very awkward if Fifa and Uefa arrange championships during the season, it is very poor because everyone knows players are already playing at the highest level, so they have to consider that clubs will withdraw them, but this is a good time to do it.

'We think it is a good experience for them. July is a good month, they have had their holidays, they can play the tournament and hopefully one of our guys will win.'

On Sunday England play Austria, France play Netherlands, Croatia play Spain and Italy take on Portugal.

Fans Take To Pitch At Cobham

Chelsea fans from around the world descended on the Cobham training ground to participate in the third annual supporters' tournament.

Teams made up from supporters groups across the UK and beyond competed in the largest tournament yet, featuring 11 sides, all battling it out to win the top prize.

With former Chelsea stars Clive Walker, Colin Pates, Gareth Hall and Steve Finnieston on hand to get involved with the teams, soak up the atmosphere and even join in with a spot of refereeing, and with some gloriously sunny weather, the stage was set for a fantastic contest and we were not disappointed.

With the teams being split into two groups and the top two sides progressing to the final and plate trophy respectively, competition was fierce and tackles were soon sliding in with enthusiasm.

The day kicked off in Group A with the Powerday cfcuk team roaring out of the traps with a 3-0 victory over the travelling men and women of Chelsea Italia, who had flown in specifically for the tournament.

Elsewhere CFC Net and the Chelsea Staff side edged out a narrow 0-0 draw. In Group B the goals came thick and fast with Chelsea Supporters Group defeating the KR Swingers 4-1 and Bucks Chelsea handing out an 8-0 drubbing to Vital Chelsea.

All the players from all sides gave a great account of themselves, leaving everything on the pitch whilst keeping up the buoyant atmosphere at the training ground, despite many tired legs and sunburned faces. A special mention to the staff of St John's Ambulance, who were on hand throughout the day, dealing with players' niggles, injuries and strains.

Alongside the football on display, it was an opportunity for many Chelsea fans, young and old to get together, share stories from the terraces and show their excitement and anticipation of the season to come.

Darren Mantle of cfcnet.co.uk shares his thoughts on the day: 'The tournament was really well run and it was good to play against other Chelsea fans, the turnout was fantastic and it was a nice touch having some Chelsea old boys there too.'

After a series of hard fought games, the group stages ended with Powerday cfcuk topping Group A on goal difference by a single goal over the unlucky Blue and White Army, whilst Chelsea Supporters Group ran out as comfortable winners of Group B with Bucks Chelsea finishing second.

With anticipation for the final building, fans and supporters enjoyed food and drinks from the Chelsea Wagon and gathered to watch Blue and White Army take on Bucks Chelsea for the Plate Trophy. An enthralling contest finished up with Bucks Chelsea as winners by a score of two goals to nil.

So to the final and in an engaging and thoroughly entertaining end to the tournament, Powerday cfcuk emerged as deserved champions after a 4-1 victory over the battle weary Chelsea Supporters Group.

In addition to all of the action, a raffle was held to raise funds and awareness for the outstanding work that Help a London Child do, and over £200 was donated to the charity.

Overall the day was a resounding success and the event organizer, Cliff Auger, had praise for the victors, whilst looking ahead to next year.

'Peter Trenter and I were once again entrusted with organizing the Chelsea Supporters' Tournament and the day went very well and largely without any major mishaps. It obviously takes a lot of hard work but the club has been wonderful with their help and support.

'Congratulations to the two competition winners, Powerday cfcuk and Bucks Chelsea and we look forward to next year and to an event that is becoming firmly established in the Chelsea calendar.'

Chelsea Unconcerned About Rumours Of Real Madrid Move For Ashley Cole

Chelsea believe they are well positioned to resist interest in Ashley Cole from Real Madrid, even if the England defender decides he wants a new challenge abroad.

Cole's displeasure at the intense media focus on his private life in England has raised hopes in Madrid that a deal is possible this summer, with Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas saying he was "confident" that a deal could be done that would reunite the defender with former boss Jose Mourinho.

Chelsea, though, have had no indication from Cole that he wants to leave, and manager Carlo Ancelotti still regards the England left-back as integral to his plans for next season.

Cole signed a new four-year contract only last September, although the interest from Madrid could still be used to negotiate improved terms.

The 29 year-old has been on holiday in the United States and, as is the case with all the Chelsea players who were eliminated in the knockout phase of the World Cup, is not due back for pre-season training until July 26.

Captain John Terry, however, decided to return to the club's Cobham training base this week to begin working on his fitness.

Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel, who both missed the World Cup with knee injuries, have also resumed their pre-season and there is confidence that they will both be available for the start of the Premier League season against West Bromwich Albion on Aug 14.

The return of Essien, in particular, would be a major boost after he missed the entire second half of last season and eventually required surgery to correct ligament damage.

"There should be no problem whatsoever," said Ray Wilkins, the Chelsea assistant manager. "Mikel is slightly in advance of Michael Essien but they are both working very well indeed."

Wilkins also stressed the importance of carefully managing the pre-season schedule of the nine Chelsea players who did play in the World Cup in South Africa.

"Normally after a World Cup, you find with those players who come back from it, it is about December when they seem to hit a wall," he said. Chelsea play their first pre-season match of the summer against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Chelsea Set T Sbmit £25m Ofer Fr Inter Sriker Mario Balotelli

Chelsea are ready to submit a €30 million (£25m) bid for Inter striker Mario Balotelli, according to internews.it.

The teenager, already reportedly the envy of both Manchester United and Manchester City is also wanted by the London club. The mega-bid comes just days after Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti said he would like to coach the player.

Balotelli's future at Inter has been up in the air after several disciplinary problems last season and the player recently dropped out of the Italian Players' Association (AIC). However, new boss Rafael Benitez recently suggested that the 19-year-old was important to the club.

Considered one of the best prospects in world football, it's unlikely that Balotelli will be sold on the cheap if indeed he leaves the Giuseppe Meazza. He has an impressive record of 20 goals in 59 appearances during his first three seasons in Serie A.

After featuring for the Italian Under-21 team over the past several months, there are also suggestions he could be in line for a call-up to the senior national side under new coach Cesare Prandelli.

Ramires Eyes 'Dream' Chelsea Switch

Highly-rated Brazil international Ramires insists it would be a "dream" to play for Chelsea, Barcelona or Real Madrid.

The 23-year-old's agent revealed earlier this month that the Blues and Bayern Munich had spoken to Benfica over a deal for the midfielder.

Ramires says he isn't surprised by interest in his signature and hopes to play for one of Europe's biggest clubs.

"My agent has told me that a number of clubs are interested in signing me, but this didn't surprise me," he told Record.

"We all know that the World Cup is the perfect stage to prove your worth.

"One good game could be enough to attract the interest of a big club. I don't know the names of the clubs that are after me, but it would be a dream for me to play for a big club such as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Chelsea."

Werder Bremen Admit They Could Sell Germany Star Mesut Oezil

Werder Bremen have admitted that they could yet sell Mesut Oezil this summer, despite previously ruling out any transfer.

Clubs such as Real Madrid, Chelsea and Juventus are all closely monitoring the situation of the playmaker, following his superb performances for Germany at the 2010 World Cup.

The Bundesliga outfit had made it clear that they were determined to hold on to their star player, by stating that Oezil was not for sale at any price. However, general director Klaus Allofs has now seemingly had second thoughts, revealing that the 21-year-old could leave the Hanseaten after all.

"We're keen to hold on to Mesut for a couple more seasons and we want him to sign a new deal with us," Allofs was quoted as saying by Bild.

"However, if that turns out to be impossible, we might have to look at other solutions."

Oezil's current contract with Werder runs until June 2011, but the Bundesliga outfit could cash in on the gifted midfielder this summer if an offer in the region of £17 million comes in.

Lukaku Set To Snub Chelsea Switch

Belgian wonderkid Romelu Lukaku has been strongly tipped to join the Ancelotti revolution at Stamford Bridge this summer, since it emerged that Didier Drogba had called the Anderlecht teenager earlier this week.

What FIFA will make of Drogba’s comments in light of Chelsea’s recently overturned transfer ban, imposed originally due to the ‘tapping up’ of french winger Gael Kakuta, remains to be seen. Any chance of a transfer, however, has seemingly been scuppered by Lukaku’s father Roger, who is also his agent.

He has stated that 17 year old Lukaku will stay at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadion until he is 18, by which time he will have completed his final school exams, a stance revealed by Anderlecht’s General Manager Herman Van Holsbeech.

A move to Chelsea must have been tempting; Lukaku’s father had reportedly been offered ‘help settling in the area’ and employment, and Lukaku himself the chance of playing alongside his idol Drogba in a title winning side, in addition to a considerable financial package. Lukaku is also known to be a Chelsea fan, having been pictured wearing the clubs strip in the Chelsea conference room.

Nonetheless, it now seems that any transfer will have to wait another 12 months, by which time 6ft 4in Lukaku will have spearheaded Anderlecht’s Champions League campaign and potentially added millions of pounds to an already hefty £10m price tag.

Porto Determined To Cash In On £15m Rated Chelsea Target Raul Meireles

Porto are reportedly determined to flog star midfielder Raul Meireles to the highest bidder, with Manchester United and Chelsea interested in securing his signature.

Meireles, 27, was one of the bright spots of Portugal's World Cup 2010 campaign and is rated as one of the best ball winners in European football.

With an eye for goal to boot, the £15 million-rated player has been linked with Real Madrid as well as the Premier League duo.

According to O Bola, Porto have virtually transfer listed the player as they look to cash in on his exploits in South Africa.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to see Meireles as a replacement for injury plagued battler Owen Hargreaves, who has suffered yet another set back in his bid to overcome a chronic tendonitis problem in his knees.

Belletti Agrees Terms With Fluminese

Former Brazil international Juliano Belletti has agreed terms with Fluminense in his homeland after being released by Chelsea at the end of last season.

The 34-year-old is set to sign a two-year deal with the Rio de Janeiro-based club if he passes a medical later this week.

Belletti moved to Stamford Bridge from Barcelona three years ago and went on to score five goals in 94 appearances for the west London outfit.

He started his career at Cruzeiro before moving on to Sao Paulo, Atletico Mineiro and then Villarreal.

Belletti spent one season with the Yellow Submarine before joining Barca in the summer of 2004 and went on to feature in 91 matches for the Catalan giants.

He was one of three players to be released by Chelsea at the end of last season. Michael Ballack has already joined Bayer Leverkusen while Joe Cole is still without a club.

Fiorentina's Adrian Mutu Will Not Give In To Chelsea

Adrian Mutu is adamant that he will not give in to Chelsea's demands over his proposed ban as a result of debts and the Romanian will not allow the Premier League champions' pressure affect him when his season begins, according to violanews.

The Fiorentina man's ban for testing positive for banned substances will finish at the end of October and the striker is keen to start his season for the Viola.

An on-going trial is looking at the possibility of wage reductions to allow Chelsea to be compensated the claimed €17 million that the London club believe they are owed. If a decision fails to be made final, the hearing will then go to an arbitration panel. The player pleaded his defence last month but it could be a long wait to find out whether FIFA will look into a possible ban.

Profiling The Future - Nemanja Matic

Matic was signed by Chelsea in the summer of 2009 for a reported fee of £1.5million from Slovakian club MFK Kosice. The 6 foot 5 inch midfielder was courted by Tottenham, Middlesbrough, Bayern Munich and Valencia before he agreed to join us.

Having started his career at Serbian side Kolubara Lazarevac, he became their youngest ever debutant aged 15 years and 11 months. He went on to play 3 seasons for them making an impressive 19 appearances with 1 goal to his name (coming in a friendly) and 1 assist.

His contributions saw Kosice gain interest and in his 2 years with them he made 67 appearances with 4 goals and 12 assists to his name. He was truly their midfield general, sitting deep, making perfect passes to open up play and running in to link up with attack on occasions.

Having impressed a great deal with his playing style, it was no surprise that he found himself at Stamford Bridge for the 2009/10 season. He was drafted into the reserve team, hoping that with his performances would merit a place in the first 11.

For the reserves Matic made 10 appearances with a goal to his name, a beautiful effort against Arsenal reserves. So far it stands as his only goal in any Chelsea shirt. He also had 2 assists to his name.

The reserves team had a lot more fluency whenever he was on the pitch, with Reserves manager Steve Holland describing his importance to the side after a 4-1 win over the reserve Hammers:

'Matic is quite a talent already, his passing won us the game today.'

Matic made his Premier League debut for us in a 4-0 win over Wolves after replacing Malouda for the last 20 minutes. He was impressive on the day and involved in some good attacking play at the end.

His only other appearance was in the 8-0 against Wigan also after 70 minutes as he continued where Ballack left off in helping with 3 more goals for the blues. He was also involved in the 5-0 demolition of Watford in the FA Cup. Sadly, injuries on a consistent basis meant that these were his only appearances.

Internationally Matic has represented Serbia at both U-19 and U-21 level, even making it into the final 30 of Serbia's World Cup list. His exclusion from the final 23 was inevitable as he was in direct competition with quality players like Kacar, Kuzmanovic and Stankovic in his position.

He has made 10 appearances at junior level with 2 goals in his first three games as well as 4 assists overall. For Serbia's national team he has 2 appearances to date. While compared to our last two profiles Matic seems an unattractive option, he is probably the most crucial and maybe even the likeliest to take his chance.

The void of the legendary Ballack is great but if anyone can fill it, it's Matic. His slow progress has mainly been down to injury problems. If he can overcome that, Ancelotti will have at his disposal a player similar in nature to Pirlo but with a more imposing physique.

A bit of hard work and Matic could be the answer to many questions posed by the loyal blue supporters.

Iker Casillas Confident Chelsea Left-Back Ashley Cole Will Make Move To Real Madrid

Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole is close to securing a £30 million move to Real Madrid, according to the Spanish club's goalkeeper, Iker Casillas.

Cole was one of Chelsea's outstanding performers last season, helping the club to a Premier League and FA Cup double, but has reportedly grown disillusioned with English football.

Cole has become a public hate figure since he was caught cheating on his wife, Cheryl, last year and is eager for a move abroad.

And Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas believes a £30m transfer to the Bernabeu may be imminent.

"From what I am hearing the signs look good," Casillas said to the Sun.

"I have only briefly spoken to people at the club but I am confident that he can be a Real Madrid player next year. I think it will be the right move for him both professionally and personally.

"A clean break from England is hopefully something he is very interested in."

If Cole does join Real Madrid, it will see him reunite with his former Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, who brought him to Stamford Bridge from Arsenal in an acrimonious transfer saga four years ago.

"It will be his last big contract and who better to sign for than his old coach Mourinho at Real," Casillas added.

"He will know better than anybody this club will be successful under Jose. Jose has proved he buys players and makes them the very best in the world in their position.

"With Ashley he doesn't need to do that because he's already the best left-back in the world. Jose knows all about him and it comes as no surprise to me he is very much on Madrid's radar."

Paris St. Germain President Hopeful Of Keeping Arsenal And Chelsea Target Stephane Sessegnon

Paris St. Germain president Robin Leproux is convinced Arsenal and Chelsea target Stephane Sessegnon would enjoy a "magical season" if he stayed at the club.

Sessegnon, 26, has been linked with a switch to the Premier League duo after he stated his wish to leave the capital club this summer. The midfield schemer has been in impressive form since joining from Le Mans two years ago and has grabbed eight goals in 63 Ligue 1 appearances.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is understood to see the £10 million-rated star as a replacement for Cesc Fabregas, while Carlo Ancelotti wants to add some creativity to his team. With Tottenham Hotspur and Everton also interested, the Benin international is not short of English suitors.

Speaking to RMC radio, however, Leproux was optimistic Sessegnon would spurn a transfer.

"I spoke to Stephane before the holidays," Leproux said.

"He is a great player, he has fantastic qualities and makes fans dream on the field.

"He is capable of a magic season for us and I told him that. We know we can count on him."

Chelsea Pull Out Of Race To Sign Germany & Werder Bremen Star Mesut Oezil

Chelsea are believed to have stopped pursuing Werder Bremen midfielder Mesut Oezil.

The 21-year-old was a pivotal force for Germany in the 2010 World Cup, scoring once and excelling as a creative playmaker as he helped his country to a third place finish in the tournament.

The youngster's contract with Werder expires next season, and he recently maintained that he would honour his deal with the Bundesliga club.

Now the Sun reports that Premier League/FA Cup double-winners Chelsea have pulled out of the chase to procure the services of the former Schalke player.

However, it has also been reported that Chelsea are still interested in the services of Oezil's Germany team-mate, the Stuttgart midfielder Sami Khedira.

Carlo Ancelotti Backs Milan Coach Massimiliano Allegri To Succeed

Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti believes Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri will succeed in recasting the mindset at San Siro following a failed campaign last term.

The Rossoneri ended up empty handed as hands appeared tied. But ex-Milan boss Ancelotti has said Allegri will break the shackles and help the club refind its feet as a new era begins.

"Allegri is in the right frame to express all his possibilities given the organization at the club. He can do his best," Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italia.

While Allegri's ambition to revive the embers of success is the key to development, the Blues man is assured the learning curve will deliver top marks.

"Milan are going through a period of transition and I think players that were not great last season will produce more this year," he concluded.

Ray Wilkins Confirms Jon Obi Mikel & Michael Essien Are Close To Returning For Chelsea

Chelsea midfielders Jon Obi Mikel and Michael Essien are set to give manager Carlo Ancelotti a boost ahead of the new season, with Blues' assistant manager Ray Wilkins confirming that the two African stars are nearing returns from injury.

Both players were forced to miss the World Cup with knee injuries this summer, but both could be available for Chelsea's opening Premier League fixture against West Bromwich Albion on August 14.

"Jon Obi is slightly in advance of Michael Essien but they are both working very well indeed," Wilkins told his club's official website.

"They have been working double sessions for the last week and we will get them really firing before the season starts."

One new arrival at Stamford Bridge this summer has been Israeli winger Yossi Benayoun, signed from Liverpool.

The new boy is apparently enjoying the way pre-season is handled at Stamford Bridge - in contrast to what used to happen at Anfield.

"Yossi is doing well. He has said the pre-season training here is so different to what they did at Liverpool where they didn't use a ball," Wilkins explained.

"They ran and they ran and they ran. But here we use the ball all the times and we feel we get the best out of the guys by using the ball day in day out. I think Yossi is quite enjoying himself."

Meanwhile, Ancelotti's assistant at Chelsea also admitted that managing the fitness of those Blues stars who have been at the World Cup would be a challenge this season.

"Normally after a World Cup you find those players who come back from it, it is about December when they seem to hit a wall," he added.

"It is very important we manage them in the correct manner and we get them to a level where they won't be as fit as we want them to be, but as they creep into the new year their fitness will come back.

"The players we have got here now, we have to get them into the right fitness condition so that they are prepared to play, because we might not be able to use the guys coming back from the World Cup for the first couple of games.

"These young men have to be primed and ready to perform."

Cork's Golden Chance!

With the majority of the senior players yet to return to pre-season training after participation in the World Cup, Chelsea TV did a wonderful interview with Jack Cork.

Many suggest that the next month or so could be a seminal moment in the Chelsea career of Jack Cork.

Watched by the management team, in training, Cork knows that this is his chance to impress and perhaps earn the right to spend the season at Chelsea, possibly eyeing up a first team squad spot.

Since joining Chelsea, Cork has flourished but always away on loan. A successful season at Scunthorpe saw him voted their 'Player of the Year` and also their 'Young Player of the Year` in the same season.

Spells at Southampton and Watford followed before last season Cork was given the opportunity to try his luck in the Premier League with Burnley.

Now, Cork could do nothing to prevent Burnley from being relegated, to the Championship, but he still put in some stirring performances and was fortunate to notch up his first Premier League goal, against Spurs of all teams.

When questioned about his ambitions for the season, he modestly replied that he wanted to impress in pre-season training and then see where that took him.

With Chelsea playing Crystal Palace this weekend and with the squad still shorn of several of its big names, this is the ideal platform for Cork to shine.

A decent performance could well see him remain in the starting eleven for the friendly fixtures that follow, if so, this could well be the season that Jack Cork becomes a fully fledged member of the first team squad.

Profiling the Future - Fabio Borini

Borini was signed by Chelsea from Bologna aged 16, with a reputation of being a natural goal scorer who could make perfect runs and finish from the tightest of angles.

With competition from the Italian mega clubs Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus; credit must be given to Arnesen in pulling this one off. He never managed a first team appearance for Bologna but his statistics at junior level were amazing. He scored 53 times in 77 appearances between the age of 12 and 17 at academy and reserve level.

Having been snapped up by Chelsea, he was introduced to the academy level at first but an injury prone first year saw him make little impact on the blues. He made only 3 starts with a goal to his name. This however did not stop him from firing the following year as the 2008/09 season proved to be the wowing year for the player.

At youth level the Italian struck 11 goals in 10 games and earned immediate promotion to the reserve side. Here too he was amazing as he played against the likes of Stoke's Amdy Faye and United's Jonny Evans to still notch up 6 goals in 10+2 games.

People were now taking notice.

The arrival of Ancelotti saw the player rise further in prominence. When asked about the Italian Ancelotti said:

"Borini is an 18-year-old from Bologna who is very, very, very interesting.'

He was included in the Champions League squad and made his debut appearance in the Premier League, in the 89th minute in the 3-0 win over Spurs, though his involvement was minimal.

He got a second chance to showcase his talents with 13 minutes in a win over Wolves. I will never forget the moment in the 91st minute when a defence splitting ball was captured amazingly by Borini who easily managed to round the keeper.

Sadly the pass had been slightly over-hit so having beaten the keeper, Borini found the angle to be too tight and hit the side netting. A glimpse of his ability!

His first start saw an impressive display against QPR and he followed up with short appearances in an FA Cup match and the game against Apoel.

He is yet to score for the first team, though with barely 150 minutes under his belt that is hardly a concern. For the reserves this year he scored 4 times in 6 starts and 2 sub appearances.

Borini's international career has been quite prolific with an amazing 11 in 23 appearances and is one of the youngest players in the U-21 side, now 19 but earning his debut aged 18.

Christened the new Shevchenko by the press, Borini's place in the squad should give blues fans great optimism about the future, given how good the original Shevchenko became under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti.

My Favourite Games: Alex

Overlooked by his country for this summer's World Cup, the Chelsea man still has his homeland on his mind as he picks out two treasured memories, one of a game played in and another watched on TV 16 summers ago.

Favourite game played:

Before he arrived at Chelsea, where he has won two FA Cups and a Barclays Premier League title, Alex had regularly picked up silverware with PSV in Holland and prior to that, with Santos in Brazil where he began his career.

As the club that nurtured Pele, Santos has a fine reputation for developing talent, and also brought through household names Robinho and Elano at the same time Alex was coming through.

Back in 2002, our man was a raw 20-year-old central defender as his club reached the final of the Brazilian championship, despite finishing eighth in the regular league season. Progressing past Sao Paulo and Gremio, they would meet Corinthians in the final.

The first leg brought a 2-0 victory with goals courtesy of Alberto and Renato, before the second leg a week later, in which the future Manchester City pairing of Robinho with a penalty, and Elano netted important goals on the way to a 3-2 victory.

'It was a big final for Santos against Corinthians, the Sao Paulo rivals, and we won 3-2 and won the league championship,' he recalls.

'For me it was very, very good, my first big trophies as a professional and my friends Robinho and Elano both scored for us.'

Favourite game watched:

Most people who remember this 1994 World Cup Final will recount an uninspiring affair between Italy and Brazil, the sides that had produced such a thrilling spectacle in Mexico in 1970.

Although both sides had chances, the Brazilians for Bebeto and Romario, the Italians for Daniele Massaro and Roberto Baggio, it ended goalless and the World Cup was decided on penalties for the first time ever, in the midday heat of Los Angeles.

Franco Baresi, Italian captain, shot over before Gianluca Pagliuca saved from Marcio Santos to level matters. Claudio Taffarel then saved Massaro's shot and Dunga converted, meaning Baggio would need to score to give his side a chance.

The Divine Ponytail stepped up, and duly blasted his penalty over the bar, handing Brazil their first World Cup success in 24 years. For Alex, it was a major moment in his childhood, having just turned 12.

'The final of the World Cup in 1994, people say it was not exciting but it was very nervous and exciting for Brazilian people, it was a long time since we had won the trophy and it was the first time that I saw it happen,' says the defender.

'We played at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles last summer against Inter, where that final was, and it was a good experience.'