Chelsea Prepare £30m Offer For Liverpool Star Fernando Torres

Chelsea is set to open the bidding for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres by offering the Reds £30 million, according to a report from The Daily Star.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich has taken a strong personal interest in the deal, the report claims, and is currently in South Africa where he plans to attend Sunday's World Cup final.

The Russian was also at Spain's semi-final victory over Germany, when Torres played the concluding nine minutes of the game after coming on as a substitute.

The Spaniard has insisted that he will not discuss his future until after the World Cup, when new Reds boss Roy Hodgson has indicated that he will have serious discussions with the player about whether or not his future lies at Anfield.

Chelsea In Danger Of Losing Battle With Bayern Munich For Ajax Star Gregory Van Der Wiel

Chelsea could lose out on Ajax defender Gregory van der Wiel as Bayern Munich have swooped for the Netherlands World Cup right-back.

The Bavarian giants and Ajax have agreed to a £14 million deal for the 22-year-old and Bayern hopes to finalise the deal before the World Cup final on Sunday, according to The Sun.

Van der Wiel will not negotiate with the Bundesliga champions as he is concentrating on playing in the final against Spain.

However, Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti will have to offer Ajax a better deal if he wants to acquire one of football’s hottest prospects this summer.

The first-choice right-back has appeared in four matches for the Netherlands in South Africa and his great form on the international and domestic level has piqued the interest of the Premier League champions.

Redknapp Confirms Levy And Joe Cole Talks

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has not given up on signing Joe Cole with the White Hart Lane chief hopeful his Chairman can beat North London rivals Arsenal and Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool to the former Chelsea midfielder’s signature.

Arsenal and Liverpool are reportedly Spurs main contenders for Cole’s signature, with Redknapp thought to have the edge in the race for Cole having given him his big break at West Ham United as a schoolboy.

Redknapp told talkSPORT radio station: “We’re interested in Joe [Cole). I know Daniel [Levy, Spurs chairman] was talking to his people and we’re interested. If the chairman can pull a deal off I’d love to have him at Tottenham.

“But it all comes down to if we can do a deal. I don’t get involved in the financial side; the chairman can do that with Joe’s people. Hopefully there is a deal that can be done because we would love him at White Hart Lane.”

Manchester City Looking To Make Stunning £20 Million Swoop For Chelsea Hitman Didier Drogba

Manchester City are preparing a £20 million bid for Chelsea star striker Didier Drogba.

City manager Roberto Mancini has been a big fan of the Ivory Coast international and hopes to bring him to the Eastlands club, according to The Sun.

Drogba won the Premier League’s Golden Boot after scoring 29 league goals for the Blues last season, helping lead Chelsea to the Premier League and FA Cup titles.

The Ivorian striker would sign a three year deal worth £18 million is he made the move to City, who have already spent £60 million to secure the services of David Silva, Jerome Boateng and Yaya Toure this summer.

The 32-year-old still has two years remaining on his current Chelsea deal and would form arguably the best strike partnership in the world if he paired with City and Argentina star Carlos Tevez.

Towering Centre-Half Drops Exit Hint As European Juggernauts Circle

Porto stalwart Bruno Alves has put a host of his Premier League suitors on red alert by suggesting he would like to leave Portuguese football. The towering centre-half has been coveted by some of the biggest clubs on the continent, most notably Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid, with Manchester City also retaining an interest in the man widely tipped to be named Cristiano Ronaldo’s successor for the Portuguese captaincy.

The 28-year-old is regarded as one of the finest centre-halves in Europe, and although Portugal flattered to deceive on occasions during the World Cup finals, Alves emerged with his reputation very much intact. The defender is thought to have a €35 million buyout clause which seemingly deterred Manchester United and Chelsea from following up their alleged interest back in January, but it appears he may now be ready to engineer a move to a big European club this summer.

Capped 35 times by Portugal, Alves has shone for FC Porto for the last four years having graduated from their B team via three loan spells, most notably at AEK Athens, but now the player has hinted his ready to cut his teeth in one of the major leagues in Europe.

Alves told O Jogo: "I have a permanent contract, but I am ambitious,"

"I hope for a European club."

The Portuguese press suggests Manchester City may be ready to make a lucrative offer to FC Porto in order to lure the talented defender to England, but claim Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is a huge admirer as well. Real Madrid have been strongly linked with Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic but O Jogo intimate that the self-proclaimed 'Special One' may decide that Alves is more viable alternative to the Old Trafford stalwart.

Chelsea's Ashley Cole The Only Englishman In David Beckham's Team Of World Cup 2010

David Beckham has named a team of players he believes have made the biggest impact at this World Cup, and has included only one Englishman.

Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole is the only member of the Three Lions squad to have made Beckham's cut, after Fabio Capello's squad crashed out to Germany in the second round.

Beckham was with the squad as part of the backroom team, but it is predominantly Germans and Spaniards who caught the LA Galaxy midfielder's eye.

"I also enjoyed watching Portugal's Fabio Coentrao, but Ashley for me is the best left-back in the world and probably England's star performer in South Africa," Beckham told The Sun.

"He never stops running and, while he is a very good defender, he loves to attack opposing full-backs."

Another Premier League defender makes it into Beckham's back four in the shape of Sunderland centre-half John Mensah, a star of Ghana's march to the quarter-finals.

"The Ghana captain was very solid as they progressed through the tournament and were unlucky in their quarter-final with Uruguay," Beckham explained.

"The rugged defender, on loan at Sunderland last season, leads by example and is not afraid to put his body on the line for his team."

Beckham also hailed the displays of his former Manchester United team-mate Diego Forlan, in many people's eyes the striker of the tournament so far.

"A striker who has got better and better over the years," said Beckham of the Uruguayan.

"I was lucky to play with Diego at Manchester United and we could all see what a talented player he was. Now he has supreme confidence.

"With four goals and several assists, he's had a great tournament."

Forlan has been partnered in attack in Beckham's team with David Villa, the former England captain having been highly impressed by the striker's all-round attacking talent.

"With five goals taking him joint top of the scoring charts so far, he has proven he is one of the world's best finishers," he added.

"He can play off either foot and is devastating in front of goal. It's frightening that he is joining what is already a great Barcelona team."

Ancelotti: French Pair Anelka & Malouda Crucial To Double Glory

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti says French pair Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda were big influences on last season's Double.

Ancelotti says the willingness of both players to take on different roles boosted their prospects.

"After 10 to 15 games, the opponents knew how to play against the Christmas tree and so the space in the middle of the pitch was very closed," Ancelotti told Chelsea magazine. "So from this moment we started to use wingers instead.

"We had the possibility to change a lot of players into different positions on the pitch so we made this our advantage.

"A surprise for me was Anelka in the role he played from the beginning until we changed the system in January," he adds. "He did very well alongside Drogba, when he did a different role, not just striker, and then he also did a good job as a striker when Didier was at the Africa Cup of Nations.

"Also Malouda was a surprise for me because after starting well he played with continuity in different positions - he played very well for all the season. For both players it was their versatility above all that surprised me, that they could perform different positions for the team."

Chelsea Keeper Petr Cech Feeling Fresh And Rested Ahead Of New Season

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is looking forward to the new season after a summer spent in part helping youngsters at the Petr Cech Football Academy back in the the Czech Republic.

Cech is heading into his seventh season at Stamford Bridge feeling refreshed after a long, arduous but ultimately successful campaign last time around.

"I played 50 games last season including internationals so it was a long season and as well it was a lot of pressure because the last games we had to win all of them with no mistakes," he told the Blues' official website.

"That is always hard. I was really happy with the way we finished the season of course but as well I was very happy that the season was over.

"Of course I was disappointed not to be qualified for the World Cup but it was good to have a longer break. I am fresh and rested so this is what I needed.

"Almost I don't believe it," he admits when reflecting that he has been at Chelsea since 2004.

"I am not one of the oldest by age but I am one of the longest-serving players and when I joined Chelsea it was my target to stay as long as I can in one of the best teams in the world.

"We have won quite a few trophies during that time and this is one of the most important things. I hope that the next season will be the most successful again."

The work with the academy back in his homeland has proved rewarding for Cech, but he is not sure that it means he will be looking at a career in coaching when he retires from playing.

"[It's] too early to say. Only time will tell," the 28-year-old mused.

"Now I might think I'm going to be coach but maybe three years later it's not what I want. Only time will tell.

"But the idea of working with the kids, this is the vision I have got because the kids will be the future of football. If you teach them and prepare them and they learn how to play and have good habits - then the base will grow and you have a bigger chance to have good players and this is the aim.

"This is just the start. It is a good start and it gives us a lot of pleasure because it is open to the public and the people really appreciate it, but once I stop playing I will have time to make something deeper."

Wolves Ponder £4m Swoop For Chelsea Youngster Michael Mancienne

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy is readying a bid for Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne, according to a report from The Sun.

The 22-year-old impressed during his second loan spell at Molineux last season, occupying a holding midfield role for much of the campaign as Wolves ensured their Premier League survival.

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has expressed an interest in making a permanent move for the player and is reported to be pondering a £4 million offer.

Chelsea now seem ready to offload the player, who has been an England Under-21 regular since 2007 and was also called up to the senior England squad for the friendly with Germany in 2008.

Bayern Munich To Hand Thomas Mueller Pay Rise To Stave Off Manchester United And Chelsea Interest

Bayern Munich's sporting director has declared Thomas Mueller will be handed a pay rise to stop Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea from snatching him up.

Mueller, 20, has been one of the stars of World Cup 2010 after grabbing four goals for Germany on their route through the tournament. Such has been his influence, his absence through suspension for the semi-final contributed to Joachim Loew's side's 1-0 defeat to Euro 2008 winners Spain.

These performances had not gone unnoticed by Europe's top clubs, and the English pair were reportedly prepared to test Bayern's resolve. After a £25 million fee was slapped on Mueller's head, Christian Nerlinger has also insisted the attacker will receive a boost to his deal, which runs until 2013, to keep him at the Champions League runners-up.

"We are going to give Thomas Mueller a raise, Bayern Munich is known as a club that will always come up with a reaction when there have been impressive performances," Nerlinger told Sport BILD.

"I am still very fine on that; we have not extended the contract of Thomas Mueller for no reason.

"Thus far we have not received any concrete bid for the player, we do not intend to sell him."

Chelsea Linked With Move For £8m England Under-21 International

Chelsea are rumoured to be interested in making a move for Southampton’s highly rated England Under 21 international Adam Lallana. Carlo Ancelotti has been looking to bring in new British talent to help fulfill the new ‘homegrown’ ruling quota for the new season and has been linked with a move for the pint sized attacking midfielder.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has also been linked with a move for the St Albans born playmaker and the League One side face a tough fight to keep hold of the extremely talented youngster.

For the past two seasons Lallana has been a fixture in the Saints set up and had an excellent run of form last term where he netted 20 goals from the midfield and has attracted interest from a host of Premier League sides.

Valued at around £8m he would hardly dent the Stamford Bridge budget and whilst Lallana wouldn’t be Premier League ready from the outset but has a great deal of potential and could be turned into a very attractive prospect if given the chance.

Laurent Blanc Will Not Discard Nicolas Anelka From France Plans

Nicolas Anelka may have been sent home in disgrace from the 2010 World Cup, but France coach Laurent Blanc has indicated that he will start his reign with a clean slate for all players and will not necessarily discard the player once known as the ‘Incredible Sulk’.

A dressing room bust-up with former trainer Raymond Domenech at half-time of les Bleus’ 2-0 defeat against Mexico proved to be the spark for a dramatic collapse in the French side, with widespread allegations in the press that ‘Nico’ had seriously insulted the coach. Despite this murky history, Blanc has not moved to distance himself too much from the Chelsea forward.

Speaking to TF1 on Thursday evening, Blanc stated that Anelka’s actions at the World Cup were “intolerable”, though he also noted that the striker can still win a place in the squad provided he “demonstrates that he is the best in his position, reflects my philosophy of play and changes his behaviour”.

Additionally, ‘Le President’ indicated his first object in charge of the side. “[I want to] find a core group of four, five or six players with experience, a sufficient level of talent, of course, but above all a state of mind which is similar to mine and of everyone who loves football,” Blanc indicated.

Les Bleus' first friendly under Blanc comes in early August away to Norway.

Michael Essien Is Crucial For Ghana; They'd Have Made Semi-Final With Him

Former Ghana coach Claude Le Roy believes the Black Stars could have made it to the World Cup semi-final with midfielder Michael Essien.

He said the Chelsea ace is of a class of his own and would have made a difference to the team but was full of praise for his former side despite losing to Uruguay.

“If Michael Essien had been there, I’m certain Ghana would have reached the semis,” Le Roy said to FIFA.com as one of the experts analyzing the African teams.

“They lacked a player of his calibre as he’s one of the most complete players in the world. He’s not only capable of doing everything, he does it all well.”

Le Roy, who took over Ghana after their first World Cup appearance in 2006, said midfielder Anthony Annan and Richard Kingson stood out among their peers.

“I was dazzled by Anthony Annan. I found him at Hearts of Oak when he was playing as a right winger and as soon as I moved him into defensive midfield, I felt he could be great.

“He’s an extremely intelligent player.”

The Frenchman, who quit the West African side in 2008, said the team has grown with maturity and demonstrated great balance in the tournament.

“I’m extremely sad for them. I called the players right at the end of the game and told them they could be proud. It must be a terrible feeling to come so close to a World Cup semi-final and miss out.

“The team demonstrated plenty of maturity and were very well balanced. They played the kind of football that was expected of them. The defence was very satisfying and Richard Kingson was top quality; he’s an underrated goalkeeper.

“They need to continue working and keep pushing themselves to avoid resting on their laurels. The goal now is to win the next Africa Cup of Nations,” he noted.

Ancelotti Looks Back On 2009/10

With the World Cup finals, in South Africa, slowly but surely drawing to a close, we can all start to turn our attention back to domestic football soon enough. Even though the world tournament has played it's part in helping us through the barren summer months, it'll come as no surprise to hear that we're positively gagging for the 2010/11 campaign to kick off next month.

For Carlo Ancelotti, 2009/10 is going to prove incredibly difficult to surpass; in his first season in English football, the Italian secured a league and Cup double at Stamford Bridge, an unprecedented achievement in the club's history. However, like all great football managers, he'll be eager to come again for the top prizes this year. Yet, before all attention turned to the preparations for the new season, Ancelotti was keen to relive some of the highlights of his first twelve months in West London.

'I know how important an achievement the Double is in English football and so we are obviously very happy for this,' he started, in an interview in the latest edition of the club's official magazine.

'It was a fantastic season,' he declared.

The former AC Milan boss' incredible first-season success in SW6 is probably made all the more impressive when you consider he took the unique decision to leave his backroom team at the San Siro behind, and inherit the staff already in place at the Bridge. Commonly, particularly for foreign managers new to a country, there will be legions of staff in hot pursuit, however Carlo felt little need for what he calls 'an entourage'.

'Bruno (Demichelis, the one backroom staff member he did bring from Milan) is my entourage!,' he joked. 'As you can see he's not small, he's a big man. No, at the beginning the club proposed to me that I have a look at the staff who were already here before I made my decision about it. I was very happy with everything here because there is a very good organization at Chelsea. I had fantastic support from everyone so I didn't need new support.'

On the subject of support, Ancelotti spoke about how his blossoming relationship with the Chelsea fans grew over the course of the campaign as well.

'At the beginning it was not easy for me, as a new manager, to have a good relationship immediately,' he said.

'But after that, the supporters here learned to know me as the season went on and our relationship got better and better and now I feel a real connection, especially when we were celebrating our trophies.'

It wasn't all celebrations though,

'We missed the Champions League,' Ancelotti went on. 'We were upset, but we were able to change our focus and after that we were more focused on the Premier League. I think that defeat helped us to stay focused on the league and improve our condition physically, because we did very well at the end of the season with a team of fit players until the last game.'

With the title wrapped up in flamboyant style at home to Wigan, it was off to Wembley to secure part two of an historic Double-winning season. However, despite the match-up of top-vs-bottom of the league, it was one of those strange ninety minutes that football tends to throw up every so often.

'I was nervous in the first half,' admitted Ancelotti, 'because I think that we played a good game and yet we didn't score. I know football very well and, sometimes, when you are not able to score with a lot of chances, you can lose the game in the end. To hit the post five times in one half and not score, that's never happened to me before.'

However, Didier Drogba's 59th-minute free kick, coupled with Kevin Prince Boateng's spot-kick miss, meant Ancelotti's Blues were victorious in the end, on what was a special day for all concerned.

'It was special because there is a lot of passion from the fans and they were there to enjoy it,' said the manager. 'It was really special for me as well because in Italy it is totally different. I think the organisation of the competition, with having the semi final and the final at Wembley, makes it absolutely special for everyone who goes.'

A special day, at the end of a very special season indeed. A season which, finally, exorcised the ghost of José Mourinho, and saw the rising of a new special one; King Carlo.

Italian And Russian Views In New Madazine

One year ago Carlo Ancelotti and Yury Zhirkov walked into the lives of Chelsea supporters. What followed was a year like none before for their new club.

There were far more ups than downs for the manager as he steered the team towards the Double and although Yury Zhirkov did endure some injuries, his settling-in season culminated in some strong spring performances.

The latest edition of Chelsea magazine speaks to both at length about their debut season in SW6. It is suggested to Zhirkov that it all came right for him personally in March's 7-1 blistering win against Aston Villa and in the following home game when Bolton were defeated narrowly. That evening the left-back was voted man of the match having played much of the game with a heavily-bandaged head.

'I don't know, but I trust my fans,' Zhirkov responds.

'For me every game was very important and I was giving 100 per cent in each one. I don't separate the games I've played into important and unimportant, and I'm talking about both league and cup games.

'Maybe the knock on the head [in the Bolton game] gave me a system re-boot and that was why I started playing so well and got Man of the Match!'

His answers become more serious when Zhirkov discusses how he came to Chelsea's attention in the first place, and when he gives his views on the positions he plays in Ancelotti's side, but he smiles once more when last winter is discussed, the first time in his career a league season has ploughed on through the coldest months.

'At some times actually it was worse here [than Russia] because of the wind-chill factor,' he explains to the magazine.

'We have lots of cold-resistant players at Chelsea who are happy to play in the cold, like John Terry. Maybe he was actually born in Siberia!'

Ancelotti, as manager, was never going to enjoy the type of acclimatization period often afforded players who have moved to a new country. Happily he had no need for one as the team got off to a flyer in the league campaign

In this month's cover interview the Italian talks tactics with Chelsea as he explains what happened when the results eventually took a dip.

'After 10 to 15 games, the opponents knew how to play against the Christmas tree and so the space in the middle of the pitch was very closed,' Ancelotti reports. 'So from this moment we started to use wingers instead.

'We had the possibility to change a lot of players into different positions on the pitch so we made this our advantage.

'A surprise for me was Anelka in the role he played from the beginning until we changed the system in January,' he adds. 'He did very well alongside Drogba, when he did a different role, not just striker, and then he also did a good job as a striker when Didier was at the Africa Cup of Nations.

'Also Malouda was a surprise for me because after starting well he played with continuity in different positions - he played very well for all the season. For both players it was their versatility above all that surprised me, that they could perform different positions for the team.'

The manager also tells readers of Chelsea what he and the team were able to do in England that they would never have got away with had they been an Italian club. He also reflects on the day at Wembley when the Double was completed and is asked if he is relieved to have had some time away from pressure over the summer?

'The pressure is normal when you manage an important club like Chelsea. Now we have to take time to think about next season, about the future because I think this could be the beginning of a fantastic cycle. I think we can improve our play and our confidence with these victories behind us.'

In regular features, Graeme Le Saux is the subject of this month's 'A to Z' and in discussing 26 subjects, he discloses behind-the-seasons manoeuvrings prior to Chelsea's Uefa Cup match in Tel-Aviv in 2001 when six of the squad didn't travel, and discusses key figures from Chelsea past such as Ruud Gullit, John Hollins, Ken Bates and Pat Nevin.

The 'Top 10' is focuses on Pint-Sized Blues, recalling former players short in stature but not lacking in impact at the club, and the young player featured is Ben Sampayo - a full-back who played a part as a substitute in the cup run that resulted in the FA Youth Cup triumph.

Elsewhere in the August edition there are interviews with two Chelsea fans from the world of music. William Orbit, producer of albums for the likes of Madonna, Robbie Williams, Blur plus many other chart-topping act also creates his own music but football at Stamford Bridge is another big passion. He talks about how Chelsea are 'a bit of a music biz team'.

James Ewers, lead singer with indie band My Luminaries, is another who shares time between appearing on stage and supporting the Blues from the stands. He speaks to Chelsea too.

There is plenty more in the 86 pages including news, a 'Tactics Board' on reading the game with Mickey Thomas discussing Frank Lampard and a look back at Chelsea is the 1970s.

Chelsea - Linked With A Legend!

This Sunday Vital Chelsea enters un-chartered territory.

For the first time in our existence as a fans web site, we will be taking part in the 'Fans Football Tournament` at Cobham.

To say it’ll be an experience is probably an understatement!

If you’ve considered plying for us but still haven’t registered an interest then please get in touch and we’ll provide details of how to get there.

For the event, the participating teams are allocated an ex-Chelsea player as a team manager; we’re reliably informed that we’ve been allocated a Chelsea legend in the shape of Clive Walker

Clive, who now regularly appears on Chelsea TV, was a flying winger who appeared for Chelsea during the period 1976/77 through to 1983/84 playing 191 games and scoring 65 goals.

To those familiar with Chelsea’s history, it was Clive that scored the goal, in May 1983 up at Burnden Park that prevented the club from slipping intro the third tier of English football for the first time in their history.

Others will remember the goal Clive scored against Liverpool in a memorable 4-2 FA Cup victory as his claim to immortal fame.

After leaving Chelsea, Clive went on to play for Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers, Fulham and Brighton and Hove Albion.

Whilst at Sunderland his claim to fame will always be scoring the goals that saw Sunderland overcome Chelsea in a dramatic League Cup semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Here at Vital Chelsea we look forward to meeting Clive this Sunday but we have to wonder if he seriously knows what he’s let himself in for agreeing to manage a team that might well be considered the rank under-dogs for the tournament.

Mesut Ozil Transfer Bids Expected 'From Arsenal, Spurs And Chelsea'

Werder Bremen general manager Klaus Allofs has admitted he is expecting to receive offers from a number of clubs for in-demand playmaker Mesut Ozil - but has claimed there have been no concrete bids yet.

Bremen, who must qualify for next season's Champions League, are eager to renegotiate Ozil's contract, which expires in 12 months time.

But they look set to face a tough decision if he opts to hold out, with the three London clubs to have qualified for Europe's top competition - Spurs, Arsenal, and Chelsea - all expected to express an interest in the player.

Allofs is already playing hardball, however, saying he would rather risk losing the player on a free next summer than compromising on a price for the 21-year-old during the current transfer window.

"Now he is playing a fantastic World Cup campaign, there is definitely increasing interest," Allofs told German newspaper Bild.

"But when it comes down to concrete bids, nothing has been done. We want him to stay on and actually there is no news.

"There are no indications he does not want to see out his contract at our club."

Ozil has emerged as one of Germany's leading lights at the World Cup - pulling the strings for the national team in much the same way as he already does for his club side.

And Werder chief Allofs said he is determined to keep the current squad together to reach the lucrative group phase of the world's premiere club competition.

"We need to have success on the field, especially in Champions League qualification," he added.

"For this we need to have a good team."

Bayern Warn Chelsea Off Schweinsteiger & Muller

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has warned clubs they have no chance of signing the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Muller this summer.

Having reached the Champions League final and now the World Cup semi-finals with Germany, Schweinsteiger and Muller have been linked with big-money moves to the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea.

However, Rummenigge said: "If any club should make an approach for one of our players, it would be useless. Our reaction would always be the same - no way, absolutely no way.

"We are not eager to start any negotiation about our players. We won't sell any of these players. The quality of our team is important and we are in a very comfortable situation in that we don't have financial pressure at all."

Ballack Ousted From Team Camp

Michael Ballack has been ousted from the Germany camp after a massive rift with captain Philipp Lahm.

The crocked ex-Chelsea star faces a bleak international future after Lahm insisted he will not give up the captain's armband next season.

Boss Joachim Low, preparing his side for Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final against Spain, revealed Ballack was asked to leave as team doctors did not have time to treat his ankle injury.

The midfielder will not be present for the showdown in Durban to decide who faces Holland in Sunday's final.

Ballack, 33, joined up with the German squad last week to act as a cheerleader.

But his presence has caused tensions in a group who have done brilliantly without him.

Lahm piled on the pain by insisting: "I won't give back the armband to Ballack. They will have to take it off me."

Chelsea Sign Czech Youngster Tomas Kalas

Reigning Premier League champions Chelsea have confirmed the transfer of promising defender Tomas Kalas from Czech Republic side Sigma Olomouc. The 17-year-old will stay in his homeland on loan next season before moving to Stamford Bridge.

Details about the transfer fee paid and the length of the young defender's contract with Chelsea have not been disclosed. However, according to a report on BBC Sport, Chelsea will pay Sigma Olomouc a fee in the region of €5.5 million for Kalas.

Kalas is considered to be one of the best players around in his age category and clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal and Milan were reportedly also keeping tabs on the centre-back.

Neil Bath, Chelsea academy manager, was very satisfied with the capture of Kalas.

"We feel there is a lot of potential in the player, and we feel at the minute it is the right time to get him," said Bath on the official club website. "But it would be good for him to stay there and get first team experience, and we look forward to him joining us next year. Obviously we will stay in touch and he will come across here when appropriate. He is a right-sided centre-half who can play right-back."