New Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has been dropped straight into the thick of it at Stamford Bridge with the news that Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba are being courted by San Siro dwellers AC Milan and Internazionale.
Scolari met his players for the first time at the club's Cobham training ground today amid rumours that Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan had officially offered Chelsea €8million for England midfielder Lampard and that AC Milan were chasing Drogba.
Scolari will face the English media for the first time on tomorrow and he is certain to be quizzed over the future of both players as well as a number of their own transfer targets.
Chelsea insist they have yet to receive any bid from Inter for the 30-year-old Lampard, who has just one year left on his current deal and he could force his way out of Chelsea and join Inter immediately by using Fifa's Article 17 to buy out the last year of his contract.
Alternatively, he could wait until January and sign a pre-contract with Inter that would let him leave for free at the end of the season.
Lampard has been pressing for a new contract at Stamford Bridge for months but so far there has been no agreement. However, talks are expected to resume this week.
In the meantime, AC Milan are still tracking Drogba, says technical director Leonardo.
Milan are in the hunt for a striker after selling Alberto Gilardino to Fiorentina and with Ronaldo out of action because a serious knee injury.
"It's no secret we're interested in signing a forward and are studying candidates," said Leonardo, when asked about the Ivory Coast forward and Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor.
"Drogba is a fine player and Adebayor is a player I really like. We are waiting for the right time to move."
Drogba has already been linked with Milan's city neighbours Inter as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, Chelsea are yet to receive a single offer for the striker.
Leonardo also insisted there was 'no possibility' of Chelsea signing Brazilian star Kaka even though Milan claimed they had received an 'astronomical offer' from the English club - a claim denied by the Blues.
Leonardo stated: "I can only repeat what we keep saying - there is no possibility of Kaka moving away from Milan.
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has insisted the club have no intention of selling Adebayor - at any price.
"We want him to stay," Hill-Wood said today. "Adebayor still has a long time left on his contract and we have absolutely no intention of releasing him from that contract."
Whether either he or Drogba leaves for Milan may depend on where Barcelona's Ronaldinho decides his future lies.
According to his Brazil manager Dunga the player is keen to move to Milan and not Manchester City, so much so that he has rejected a far more lucrative offer from the latter.
Whatever he is sold for could then force Barca's hand in their pursuit of Adebayor. The Spanish side have already reportedly had a €31.5 bid for the player rejected by the Gunners.
