Chelsea step up bids for Franck Ribery and David Villa

Simon Johnson
1 Jun 2009

David Villa and Franck Ribery are being lined-up by Chelsea to be Carlo Ancelotti's first signings when the Italian takes charge at Stamford Bridge.

It now only seems a matter of time before Ancelotti is confirmed as the Blues' new manager after he left AC Milan last night following eight years at the club.

Talks to bring in the two big-name signings are well under way and Standard Sport understands chief scout and director of youth development Frank Arnesen flew to Spain last Thursday to meet Villa's representatives to discuss a move to Chelsea.

On the same day, Ribery, 26, is believed to have flown into Farnborough Airport by private jet and driven straight to Stamford Bridge for talks with club representatives.

Arnesen's involvement is telling as he has become an even more influential figure at Chelsea having been promoted to the board and is close to owner Roman Abramovich.

Valencia are looking to cash in on the 27-year-old as they are heavily in debt and failed to qualify for the Champions League next season.

Villa has scored 25 goals in 43 appearances for Spain and enjoyed another impressive season for Valencia with 28 League goals.

He responded to questions over his future at the weekend by insisting I have five more years of contract' at Valencia, but it is expected his four-year stay at the club will end soon.

Bayern Munich star Ribery is thought to favour a move to either Manchester United or Real Madrid but the fact that he was prepared to travel to London to listen to what Chelsea had to offer must give the Blues hierarchy some hope.

Captain John Terry gave a strong indication after the club won the FA Cup against Everton on Saturday that he expected Villa and Ribery to be targeted this summer.

He said: “I think we'll see Chelsea back and competing for the top players that are out there, the likes of Ribery, David Villa. These are the kind of players we want to attract to Chelsea.
“Valencia are struggling for money, I think that's been well publicised in the papers.

There's been a lot of talk about Ribery as well.

“There's many players we are going to be linked with in the summer but when big players come up like those kind of players, I think we need to show people and let people know that, yes, Chelsea are back — we're back in the frame of things again and we'll be competing with the price tags needed to bring in the best players.”

Abramovich would also like to bring Kaka to Chelsea but he is believed to be close to moving to Madrid as the big-name promised by incoming president Florentino Perez.

Ancelotti has been offered a three-year contract worth £6.5m a year and should be joined by his assistant at AC Milan Filippo Galli, although it has been reported that the Italian club are demanding compensation first.

The Italian watched Milan qualify for the Champions League by winning their last match 2-0 at Fiorentina last night and then said: “I have agreed to leave Milan. The decision was by mutual consent. But a move to London is not certain yet.”