Bologna Want Chelsea Midfielder Nemanja Matic On Loan

Bologna is targeting a possible loan deal for Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic, according to a report from The Daily Mail.

The 21-year-old signed a four-year contract with the Blues last summer, but made only three substitute appearances last season.

Bologna is keen to strengthen their team after finishing only a place above the Serie A relegation zone last season.

Matic has already won two caps for the senior Serbian national side, despite his youthful age, but missed out on selection for the World Cup 2010 squad.

Father Of Neymar Angry After Santos Reject Chelsea Bid For His Son's Services

The father of Santos starlet Neymar has spoken of his dismay after the Brazilian club rejected a transfer offer from Chelsea without even consulting the player.

Sr. Neymar da Silva feels that Santos should be listening to the wishes of his son, and at least communicating with him over the current situation.

The Premier League giants had an offer in the region of £17 million officially rejected on Tuesday, leaving the 18-year-old’s father far from impressed over the whole affair.

“Santos just said ‘no’ before even talking with us,” he said to Lancenet. “Why would they do that?

”They must listen to Neymar to know what he has to say about it.”

Many Brazil fans wanted the starlet, who has gained a reputation as one of his country's most promising young forwards, to play in this summer's World Cup — but former national coach Dunga decided to leave him out of the squad for South Africa.

Despite having their bid rejected, Chelsea reportedly remains interested and was hoping their bid would at least serve as a starting point for negotiations.

However, when the rejection was announced on Tuesday, Santos made it clear they were not keen on selling to anyone.

"Santos FC states that, in the in the late morning of Tuesday (20), we received an official offer from Chelsea FC of England for the economic rights of striker Neymar," a statement on the club's official website read.

"President Alvaro Luis Ribeiro de Oliveira has sent response to the English club thanking them for the interest and reiterating that the Santos FC has no interest in opening trading."

Lancenet reports that Neymar, his father and Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro will hold an informal meeting tomorrow to discuss the player’s ‘career plan’ and how the current transfer situation with Chelsea is set to proceed.

Sr. Neymar insists that whatever happens, there cannot be any regrets in the future over how the situation was handled.

“What about his future? Whether he is staying or even if he is moving, there cannot be any regrets from either side,” he said.

Dinamo Bucharest Star Marius Alexe On Chelsea Radar

According to a report in ProSport, Premier League champions Chelsea are considering making a move for promising youngster Marius Alexe, currently under contract with Romanian titans Dinamo Bucharest.

The 20-year-old attacker is considered to be one of the most exciting youngsters around in European football and he's even been touted as 'the new Adrian Mutu' in his native country.

Alexe was in superb form in the 2009-10 season and his good performance apparently left a mark with the rest of Europe. Chelsea have scouted the attacker on several occasions and the Blues are reportedly impressed with the young attacker's potential.

The Romania under-21 star has an ongoing contract with Dinamo Bucharest and the White and Reds are reluctant to let go of their star attacker. However, Dinamo could be tempted to cash in on Alexe if an offer in the region of €5 million comes in.

Mancienne Still A Target

Wolves have not yet given up on agreeing a deal to take Michael Mancienne from Chelsea.

If Mancienne does return to Molineux this season it would be the third season he has been part of our squad. Which of course might prove pivotal if we are to get him, as surely he probably feels more at home amongst the Wolves squad than he does with his Chelsea teammates?

But while Michael Mancienne may well want to join us on a permanent switch, Chelsea are yet to agree a fee for the England under-21 international.

Wolves have been fairly open with our evaluation of around £4million, but Chelsea (because their skint these days) want more.

The negotiations though can continue for a while longer, as the Express & Star believe we have to sell before we can buy anyway.

The paper also believes that it isn't a case of either signing Guirane N`Daw on loan or buying Michael Mancienne and that Mick McCarthy may well want to bring both players to the club.

But the shape of McCarthy's squad isn't likely to take its full shape until after the close of the summer transfer window as Mick looks to do some late wheeling and dealing.

Chelsea Chase £20m Ramires And £17 Million Neymar In Brazilian Double Raid

Chelsea have offered Benfica £20 million for Brazilian World Cup star Ramires, reports the Daily Mail.

The popular 'Blue Kenyan' is also being courted by Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Representatives of the 23-year-old say moving to Stamford Bridge would be a 'dream move' for the Brazilian.

Ramires himself is quoted as saying: "It would be a dream for me to play for a big club such as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Chelsea."

Ramires caught the eye when he embarked on an impressive run before setting up Robinho to score in Brazil's 3-0 victory over Chile during World Cup 2010.

Meanwhile Brazilian side Santos has told the Blues their £17m bid for wonderkid Neymar does not reach their valuation.

Santos want £30m but the 18-year-old is keen on a Premier League move and the World Cup star could force his club's hand.

If Santos Starlet Neymar Wants To Join Chelsea We Will Try To Make It Happen - Agent

Santos starlet Neymar will make the final decision on his transfer to Chelsea after the club failed to meet his £29.5 million buyout clause, according to his agent.

The Premier League champions have already seen a £16.9 million bid rejected for the highly-rated Brazil youth international yesterday. After scoring 12 goals in 35 appearances for the Sao Paulo-based outfit, manager Carlo Ancelotti is believed to be eager to bring the player to Stamford Bridge.

Speaking to the SporTV television channel, agent Wagner Ribeiro confirmed Chelsea's previous offer and then insisted Neymar's will would go a long way to deciding his future if he decides to force through a transfer.

He said: "Today, I'm going to have a meeting with the boy's parents and also with a senior manager at Santos, Pedro Luiz Nunes Conception. But the more important [aspect to] this story is the will of the boy. If he says he wants to leave we will talk with the president [Luis Álvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro] and Pedro Luiz. Hence, we must also talk to the investor to negotiate with Chelsea."

Ribeiro also went on to confirm that an offer of £17.7m would not be enough to conclude the deal as the player is part-owned by the SONDA agency. This figure would only meet the 60 per cent owned by Santos, and would fall short of the overall figure of £29.5m needed to meet the release clause for all parties.

Feyenoord Confirm Interest In Chelsea Striker Franco Di Santo

Feyenoord's technical director Leo Beenhakker has confirmed that the Eredivisie giants are interested in signing young Chelsea attacker Franco di Santo on a one-year loan deal.

The Rotterdam side is in the market for a new striker following the retirement of Roy Makaay earlier this summer and head coach Mario Been supposedly sees Di Santo as the perfect replacement.

"The team is looking pretty good at the moment. We only need one more striker and we're done on the transfer market. Di Santo is indeed one of the players we're interested in, but there's a lot of competition in the race for his signature," said Beenhakker to Voetbal International.

The 21-year-old Di Santo joined Chelsea from Audax Italiano in January 2008, but the Argentinian striker has so far failed to make an impact at the Blues. He was farmed out on loan to Blackburn Rovers last term and scored one goal in 22 league appearances.

Feyenoord reportedly face competition from Wigan Athetic and Twente in the race for Di Santo's services.

Petr Cech To Miss Start Of Premier League Season With Calf Injury

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is set to be sidelined for the start of the Premier League season after tearing a calf muscle in his right leg, the club has confirmed.

Cech, 28, suffered the blow in training yesterday and is expected to be missing for the next month. This has ruled him out of the remaining pre-season friendlies, the Charity Shield clash against Manchester United on August 8 and at least the opening fixture in the defence of their league crown against West Bromwich Albion on August 14.

The Czech Republic international endured a similar knock in the last campaign against Inter in the Champions League and missed several weeks of action between February and March. Reserve shot-stoppers Henrique Hilario and Ross Turnbull will now compete to fill in between the posts at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea Won’t Sign Cech Replacement

Chelsea are not intending to buy a new goalkeeper during the transfer window despite the confirmation yesterday that their first-choice No 1, Petr Cech, will miss the start of the season through injury.

Chelsea is confident they have enough cover after Cech was ruled out for a month with a tear in his right calf.

The 28-year-old sustained the injury in training on Tuesday and scans revealed the damage would eliminate him from the rest of the club's pre-season build-up.

Cech will also miss the Community Shield against Manchester United at Wembley on August 8 as well as the start of Chelsea's defence of the title against West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge the following weekend.

The Czech Republic's player of the year was out of action for two months earlier this year with a similar injury he sustained during Chelsea's Champions League match against Internazionale. He was replaced by Hilario for the remainder of the opening leg in Italy but Ross Turnbull played in the return leg, which Chelsea lost 1-0, after the Portuguese keeper also collected an injury.

A spokesman said: “Scans have shown Petr has torn a calf muscle in his right leg and is expected to be out for a month. He suffered the injury yesterday in training and is now expected to miss the start of our competitive season, as well as the remainder of our pre-season friendlies, the next of which comes at Ajax on Friday.”

Henrique Hilário Steps Up After Petr Cech Is Ruled Out For A Month

Henrique Hilário is in line to start the new season in goal for Chelsea, after the club confirmed that Petr Cech had torn the calf muscle in his right leg and would be sidelined for the next four weeks.

Carlo Ancelotti, the manager, is expected to prefer Hilário to his other back-up goalkeeper, Ross Turnbull, for the Community Shield fixture against Manchester United two weeks on Sunday and the Premier League opener at home to West Bromwich Albion the following Saturday. If Cech's rehabilitation goes according to plan, he should be back for the game at Wigan Athletic on 21 August.

Cech had returned to Chelsea training on 5 July, together with Hilário and Turnbull, and he had hoped to benefit from a full pre-season, as a side-effect of the Czech Republic failing to qualify for the World Cup. But after playing for 30 minutes in the 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday he will now miss the club's remaining friendlies against Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg.

Hilário was put through extra training yesterday by the goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon, after Cech felt his calf muscle tear during a routine jog and the 34-year-old Portuguese, who made 11 appearances in all competitions last season, is preparing for a return to the spotlight.

Kakuta Feels No Guilt

Chelsea attacker Gael Kakuta believes he has nothing to feel guilty about following his controversial transfer from Lens.

The 19-year-old Frenchman moved to Stamford Bridge back in 2007, although the Ligue 1 club was outraged at his switch to the Premier League.

Lens claimed the player's move was in breach of his contract and last year Fifa banned Kakuta from playing for four months and barred Chelsea from making any signings in the next two transfer windows.

The sanctions were subsequently rescinded following an appeal from the Blues to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, ruling that he did not have a legitimate contract with Les Sang et Or despite spending eight years with the club.

Kakuta does not believe he did anything wrong regarding his transfer, and does not feel guilty.

He told L'Equipe: "I was calm. I had nothing to feel guilty about.

"I couldn't care less. I went on working. That is football, you know."

All To Play For In France

Chelsea's band of Under 19 internationals were in action again on Wednesday, with a win, a loss and a draw.

Gael Kakuta once again played the full 90 minutes for hosts France, who recorded their second big win in four days, this time destroying Austria 5-0.

Just like on Sunday, Kakuta's fine solo work ended in a goal, though this time not for himself, as after beating three men before passing to Alexandre Lacazette to finish the move six minutes after the hour. That was the second of the game, and Lacazette would claim another before the final whistle, Antoine Griezemann also netting a brace before Enzo Reale completed the rout.

It guarantees France's place in the semi-finals prior to their final group game against England, who were beaten 1-0 by Holland despite the presence of Chelsea midfielder Jacob Mellis, who started after an impressive stint as a late sub on Sunday.

In his 83 minutes on the field, Mellis created two decent opportunities for team-mates but neither was converted, meaning Noel Blake's side must beat France if they are to progress into the last four.

Ten-man Italy are still looking for their first goal of the tournament but they did pick up a point with a goalless draw against Croatia.

Fabio Borini once again captained the Italians and went close early on with an effort cleared off the line, but could find no breakthrough, even after the introduction of club colleague Jacopo Sala with 21 minutes remaining.

It meant a clean sheet for Chelsea-bound Croatian goalkeeper Matej Delac, who twice denied forward Mattia Destro, the top scorer in qualifying.

The final round of group games take place on Saturday, when Croatia meet Portugal and Italy take on Spain, who secured a 2-1 win against the Portuguese.

Chelsea Warn Ashley Cole The Grass Is No Greener In Madrid

Chelsea chairman, Bruce Buck, believes Ashley Cole would not escape the intrusion into his private life with a transfer to an overseas club.

The Chelsea and England left-back feels hounded in England, where his every movement is tracked by the paparazzi and he has been installed as public enemy No1 in some quarters following his separation from his pop-star wife, Cheryl.

Cole has three years to run on his contract at Stamford Bridge and he loves playing for Chelsea but cannot tolerate the manner in which his private life has been placed under the most unforgiving of microscopes. Quite simply, He is unable to live his life and friends believe the situation has become so bad that he would seriously consider a move to a leading club on the continent.

Real Madrid, who are managed by Cole's former manager at Chelsea, José Mourinho, have an interest in him, although they have yet to make any official contact with the relevant figures at Stamford Bridge. Cole has maintained a good relationship with Mourinho. Buck, however, is not only adamant that Cole is not for sale but he is determined to work with the player to help him to find and enjoy some tranquillity off the pitch.

"Ashley is a superb player. He is a delight to deal with around the football club, he gets on very well with everyone, he trains very well and he is really a model athlete," Buck said. "Obviously, he is not happy with how his private life has become the focus of everything around him and I think we'd like to work with him so that he has a bit of a lower profile. We don't think the problem will change if he went to somewhere else outside of the UK, so I think we want to work with him here to make his personal life more enjoyable."

Buck was asked whether there was the recognition at Chelsea that Cole needed such help. "We say to all our players that might have personal issues that we want to help them as much as we can and even Carlo [Ancelotti, the manager] has said that on several occasions," Buck replied. "There is a limit to what we can do but obviously we want to support our players and we want them to be happy not only on the pitch but also in their private lives. If you are not happy in your private life, it's hard to focus on your professional life."

Were Cole to decamp to Madrid, for example, it is unlikely that the paparazzi would leave him alone, knowing that he might continue to make the news in the United Kingdom. It could even make the situation worse. Buck added he was "not worried" that the intrusion and controversy would drive Cole away. "Ashley Cole is not for sale," he said. "That's the bottom line on that. There's no doubt that he's going to be a Chelsea player this season."

Buck had a similar message over Didier Drogba, in the wake of one of the striker's advisors claiming to have had "direct contact" with Manchester City over a possible move for the striker to Eastlands. Thierno Seydi's comments have been rubbished by City and greeted with faint amusement behind the scenes at Chelsea.

"The club position is pretty straightforward," Buck said. "Didier had the golden boot, Didier had a great season, Didier is an important part of our plans for this season and the future and he is not for sale."

Chelsea have grown weary of being linked to every big name in world football and the latest one came today, when the Brazilian club Santos said they had rejected a bid from Stamford Bridge for the highly rated 18-year-old striker Neymar. Reports in Brazil said that the offer to the club was in the region of £17m.

Buck admitted Chelsea were "looking at some things", having released Joe Cole, Michael Ballack and Juliano Belletti, and with Deco being heavily linked with a move to his native Brazil. Yossi Benayoun, signed from Liverpool, is the club's only summer acquisition thus far, but Buck does not envisage "anything major" in terms of transfers.

"We're very happy with the squad we have now," Buck said, "so if there are any more additions, it will be fine-tuning. Whether or not they'll work out, who knows? We'll just see how it goes over the next six weeks."

Chelsea Insist That Didier Drogba Is Not For Sale Amidst Manchester City Rumours

English champions Chelsea have released a statement indicating that star striker Didier Drogba is staying put at Stamford Bridge.

This follows media speculation on Tuesday suggesting that Manchester City were lining up a bid for the player.

Drogba's agent, Thierno Seydi, said in a radio interview that he had had contact with City.

However, this claim was refuted by the Citizens on Tuesday and now Chelsea themselves have stated that 'the Drog' is not for sale.

"It is all irrelevant, Didier Drogba is not for sale," said a Chelsea spokesman, according to Sky Sports.

Drogba was a key player in the Blues' Premier League success last season.

Real Madrid Prepared To Sweeten Ashley Cole Deal By Offering Kaka To Chelsea

Real Madrid are prepared to break Chelsea's resolve to keep Ashley Cole by offering Brazil superstar Kaka in exchange, according to The Mirror.

The England World Cup 2010 left back is understood to be determined to leave the country due to the press attention following his split from wife, Cheryl. After bringing him to the Blues in 2006, new Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho is reported to be ready to seize the chance to have a reunion with the former Arsenal player.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has declared he has no intention of letting Cole go even for a reported £30 million. This position could be weakened, however, if Kaka was sent to Stamford Bridge in an exchange.

The attacking midfielder endured a debut campaign of disappointment at the Bernabeu after suffering a decline in form and fitness. Ancelotti brought the best out of the £56 million signing at AC Milan and could be tempted by the opportunity bringing the best out of him again.

Chelsea Could Join Manchester United & Manchester City In Race To Sign Inter Striker Mario Balotelli

Chelsea are believed to be lining up a late bid to sign Inter forward Mario Balotelli, should their pursuit of Liverpool hitman Fernando Torres end in a failure to sign the Spaniard.

The 19-year-old Balotelli endured a difficult time under former boss Jose Mourinho, as he was frozen out of the squad on numerous occasions - including a Champions League game against Chelsea.

And despite the appointment of a new manager in the form of Rafael Benitez, the rising star is still being linked with a move away from the San Siro. The Spaniard was recently non-committal about whether or not the former Lumezzane man is set for an exit from the Milan-based club.

Now The Daily Mail reports that the west London club is closely monitoring the situation surrounding the young set-piece specialist's future, as an alternative if they are unable to land Liverpool forward Torres.

Inter were previously reported to be asking £34 million for Balotelli.

Chelsea Fail To Get Neymar From Santos

Chelsea have had a £17million offer for Brazilian teenager Neymar rejected by his club Santos.

The Brazilians claimed Chelsea tabled a bid for the youngster yesterday but it was turned down by Santos, who insists they want £30m for the player regarded as one of the most promising prospects to come out of the country in years.

Chelsea have been following striker Neymar, 18, for a year, and West Ham last week failed with a bid.

Chelsea are also chasing Liverpool star Fernando Torres but Neymar, who has scored 27 goals in all competitions since the turn of the year, would fit the bill of bringing in the world’s best youngsters to the club.

Mourinho Plots Bid For Chelsea Star

Jose Mourinho is preparing another attempt to land Ricardo Carvalho, this time for new club Real Madrid.

The former Blues boss tried to land the Portuguese defender last summer only for the proposed deal to fall through but Chelsea might be more open to an offer in the vicinity of £5million this time round.

Another of Carvalho's former team-mates at Porto, midfielder Deco, also seems finally set to leave Stamford Bridge after two seasons, with Fluminese expected to land the Brazilian-born 32-year-old.

Deco said: "It's been 13 years since I left Brazil for playing in Europe. Now I want to go back home and play in my country because I have never been able to win a title there.

"I want to return to Brazil most of all because of personal reasons but I am still in contract at Chelsea and I have to resolve that.

"Without doubt I know that I owe it to my career to win a title in Brazil. I expect to have my situation resolved before July 26 for being able to travel to Brazil as soon as possible."

Cech A Doubt For Chelsea Opener After Injuring Calf In Training

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech suffered a calf injury in training on Tuesday and could be ruled out for the champions' first Premier League game of the season against West Bromwich Albion.

The Czech Republic international pulled up while running during a session at the club's training ground in Cobham and was taken for a scan to determine the damage with his right leg covered in a protective boot.

Cech, 28, fears the injury could be a recurrence of the tear he suffered last season during the first leg of the Champions League tie with Internazionale in Milan. The injury ruled him out for four weeks during a vital stage of the season and he missed five games, including the return leg against Inter in which Chelsea were eliminated.

Chelsea, whose next game is a friendly against Ajax on Friday, will play against Manchester United in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on 8 August before starting the defence of their Premier League title against West Brom on 14 August.

Sturridge Stepping Up

Despite being one of Chelsea's more senior players at Crystal Palace on Saturday, Daniel Sturridge remains a relative youngster in the first team squad.

The 20-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge a year ago after leaving Manchester City, and has made steady progress in that time, picking up the first medals of his professional career.

As he explained to the Official Chelsea Website, merely being in the presence of some of his team-mates has aided his development.

'I think all the players have helped me, in some way or another. They all give their input, and the little things that you need to hear,' said the forward.

'It helps a lot, we have a lot of world-class players here, and they always will help the younger players progress in every way possible. This is a good club to learn things off the bigger players.

'As time goes on, those things you learn go into your game, and you end up becoming a better player just off natural instinct. Just training with these players makes you a better player, and the skills that you learn are a huge bonus on the field.'

Now he hopes to put into practice on a regular basis what he has picked up over the past 12 months, and he feels he is not alone in knocking on the door for a regular place. An early pre-season with our World Cup players missing is the perfect opportunity to impress Carlo Ancelotti, who fielded only six players aged 21 or over against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

'Hopefully, now is the time for me to step up and show what I've learned from last season, and to show everyone what I can do,' Sturridge said.

'We have a load of good, young players - Jeffrey Bruma, Patrick van Aanholt, Gael Kakuta - that can step in, they just need an opportunity.

'They need a lot of patience, also, in actually getting into the team, because it's not easy. Now is just one of those situations where a lot of players get their chance, and they're all working very hard. We've got a lot of players here that can make the grade, and all the young players should get an opportunity to show that.'