Blues make Drogba wait for Milan move

Sources close to the striker have revealed that a deal to take the Ivory Coast international to the San Siro is still a long way off despite the start of negotiations between the clubs.

It is believed the £18 million-plus transfer has been put on hold while Chelsea try to resolve their managerial vacancy, with two of the candidates - Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink - both involved in Euro 2008 with Portugal and Russia respectively.

Chelsea are understood to be keen to consult the new manager on who they want to replace Drogba before they let him go and some of the potential replacements are involved in the tournament, like Spain striker David Villa, who has been put up for sale by Valencia.

The club have also been linked with Villa's international team-mate, Fernando Torres of Liverpool, and Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o.

If the Drogba deal were to go through too soon, it could potentially weaken the club's bargaining position for a new talisman with most of Europe's top clubs keen to wait until after the championship before any major transfer business is completed.

Although Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon was reportedly in Milan over the weekend it is understood the clubs have not yet reached agreement on the a fee. The Italian side are hoping to pay around £18m for Drogba - who admitted a desire to play for Milan in his autobiography - while Chelsea want closer to £30m.

Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed talks are ongoing over Drogba, but claims Chelsea aren't willing to let Andrei Shevchenko return to his former club.

Meanwhile, Carvalho today insisted Scolari is the best man to take over at Chelsea because he will command total respect in the dressing room. The Blues defender has played under Scolari for Portugal since 2003 and has become a big fan of the Brazilian's style of management.

Scolari is the new favourite to replace Avram Grant after Carlo Ancelotti rejected the opportunity last week.

Chelsea challenged strongly for the Premier League and Champions League last season despite constant speculation that Grant didn't have the full support of many of the players.

But Carvalho says that won't be an issue with Scolari, although he admits to being unsure if the 59-year-old can be persuaded to leave his international post.

The centre-half, who played in Portugal's 2-0 win over Turkey on Saturday, said: "Everyone knows his contract with Portugal comes to an end after Euro 2008 and maybe he will move to the Premier League, I am not sure.

"But he is a top manager, he keeps all the players together and he is very strong with the people in the squad. Sometimes players need that and, as a man, he is great as well."

Appointing Scolari would help Chelsea's bid to convince Carvalho to stay, having been linked with a move to Real Madrid and Inter Milan this summer.