CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:CHELSEA ARE drawing up plans to reshape their squad after being knocked out of the Champions League and despite the current squad pleading for one more chance to win Europe's top prize.
The 1-0 defeat by Jose Mourinho’s Internazionale on Tuesday exposed weaknesses in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad. The club will aim to retain the spine of the team but a number of fringe players are expected to be moved on in the summer.
Chelsea’s transfer policy in recent seasons has been one of relative prudence, as successive chief executives have aimed for self-sufficiency instead of continued reliance upon Roman Abramovich’s benevolence. However, the club’s Russian owner has made it clear that should the right players become available at competitive prices, he will fund the occasional big signing.
Ancelotti may thus be able to consider moves for long-standing targets such as Fernando Torres, Franck Ribery, Angel di Maria or Sergio Aguero. Torres is emerging as the club’s principal target and the Spanish striker’s future at Liverpool could be decided by the level of investment attracted to his club in the next few months.
Real Madrid will compete for Ribery’s signature though the French forward, who plays for Bayern Munich, confirmed there had been interest from Chelsea last month.
Abramovich was at the club’s Cobham training base yesterday and he spoke to Ancelotti about long-term transfer policy. Funds could be raised by moving players on with the likes of Deco, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Juliano Belletti and even Salomon Kalou potentially made available.
The owner’s desire to reinvigorate the squad could also have implications for contract negotiations with Joe Cole and Michael Ballack, whose deals expire at the end of the season, and possibly Nicolas Anelka, who is contracted until 2011.
Previous Chelsea managers have come under serious scrutiny following elimination from the Champions League but Ancelotti, who has been at the club for nine months, retains the owner’s faith and will oversee the next stage in this team’s development.
“Most of the players are really happy and want to stay here and continue the adventure,” said the striker Didier Drogba, 32, who was sent off late in the 1-0 second-leg defeat. “It would mean a lot to win (the Champions League) together next season because we’ve been trying so hard to do that for such a long time. I hope there is more to come from this team.”
Their forward, Florent Malouda, 29, said the current team “could have given much more than we did”.
Ballack, now 33, offered the telling admission that Inter’s physical power had proved too much to cope with. “I don’t think this team is coming to an end because you can’t use this game as a means of assessing the development of the side over the whole year,” the German midfielder said.
Uefa’s disciplinary panel has yet to decide if Drogba’s red card for violent conduct – the Ivorian stamped on Thiago Motta’s ankle – will prompt further sanction. The Ivory Coast striker is nine months into a three-year probationary period for a previous offence. Drogba was banned for four matches, with a further two games suspended, for verbally abusing the Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo after Chelsea’s defeat in last season’s semi-final, against Barcelona.
Drogba faces a mandatory two-match ban for his most recent offence, which could be extended to four games. “The referee was a bit hard with this red card,” said the striker.
“I stepped on (Motta’s) achilles tendon, but it was not intentional and I was more focused on the cross and the ball. I know I have had unhappy endings in Europe for the last three years (he was also sent off in the 2008 final), but I’m going to try and make it better. I hope next season will be mine.”
