Bruce Buck insists Chelsea are closing in on a 'really big new signing'

Simon Johnson
8 Jul 2009

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has revealed the club hope to sign two more players before the end of the transfer window and is confident they will land one of their big summer targets.

The Blues are still interested in Alexandre Pato, David Villa and Wesley Sneijder, while they haven't given up hope of buying Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich.

Ribery has made moving to Real Madrid his main priority but the Spanish club's general director, Jorge Valdano, claims they have pulled out of the race because of Bayern's £70million asking price.

Chelsea have so far signed two squad players in Ross Turnbull and Daniel Sturridge and one genuine contender for the first team in Yuri Zhirkov.

Buck says their summer spending is far from over and claimed: "We said before the transfer season started that we expected four or five players in and a couple out. That is still our expectation. We are looking for a marquee name and are chasing a few but most of the big clubs are chasing the same players.

"We are only going to get one of those top-notch players if the price is right and he fits into our team appropriately. But we are optimistic. We think we know the right price for these players and there is still a lot of time left in the transfer season so let's see how things work out."

Buck remains adamant that John Terry will stay despite reports the captain wants to have showdown talks with owner Roman Abramovich. Terry is on £135,000 a week and is looking for Chelsea to offer him a better contract as Manchester City are willing to offer him closer to £200,000 a week.

Buck told Chelsea TV: "As a Chelsea fan I'd be devastated if John left but that's not going to happen. John Terry is synonymous with Chelsea and Chelsea is synonymous with him.

"He has been here since he was a wee tot, he is captain of the club and captain of England. He is the backbone of our team and is not leaving."

Buck is also confident that Chelsea have finally found a manager in Carlo Ancelotti who will stay at Stamford Bridge for several seasons.

Ancelotti is Chelsea's fifth manager in the past two years and they are desperate to have some stability.

They have gone three years without winning the Premier League and are desperate to win the Champions League after reaching four semi-finals and one final in the last six years.

Buck insists the Italian will be given time to make his mark, although he admits Ancelotti will be expected to make Chelsea challenge for at least two major trophies this season.

He added: "We were looking for a manager who would build for the future and win many trophies for many years to come. He was the outstanding candidate.

"Carlo has been a very successful manager, winning the coveted Champions League.

"He has also been a very successful footballer himself so we think he has all the characteristics to bring us success for the long term.

"The goals for next season are pretty much the same we set every year, that come 15 April we'd like to be in contention for two or three cups. If he gets us there we will be satisfied, if he gets us further and wins a big cup or two we will be very satisfied."

Inter Milan, meanwhile, have given up hope on signing Chelsea pair Ricardo Carvalho and Deco - at least for the time being.

The Italian club's transfer consultant, Lele Oriali said: "Having had the fortune of being able to speak directly with Chelsea, we know they are ready to negotiate over these two players but the asking price is too high.

"The deal is not as simple as it might seem. It's unrealistic for us in the current conditions. At the moment the deal is closed and we don't know if it will open up again later on."

Former Chelsea midfielder Ben Sahar said today he never felt he had a chance to make an impression at Stamford Bridge. Sahar made only five appearances in three years before he was sold to Espanyol for £1m last month.

The 19-year-old said: "I dreamed of playing for Chelsea's senior team. I wanted to play at the highest levels but reality turned out differently. I arrived at Chelsea at a young age and never really had a chance to become part of the senior squad.

"Somewhere along the line the Chelsea dream shattered but I hope this dream will take me to other places. Maybe in the future it will come true."

While at Chelsea, Israeli international Sahar also spent time on loan at Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth and Dutch club De Graafschap.

"What I've been through so far, other players don't experience in a full career," he added.