Chelsea Chairman Buck Reveals Club May Sell Five Players

According to a report in the British tabloid The Daily Mirror, chelsea are prepared to cash-in on as many as five first-team players at the end of the season. It is though that the Blues are hoping to trim the average age of their squad, with Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Deco, Florent Malouda and Alex thought to be most likely to leave Stamford Bridge. "We haven't properly got together to talk about summer transfers yet but I think that we could expect that several players will leave and that several players will come in," chairman Bruce Buck is quoted as saying in The Daily Mirror. "I don't know whether that is three, four or five, but something in that kind of neighbourhood. We can expect a handful to leave. "We'd like to use internally generated cash to buy new players and by that I mean sell players and buy new players. But, of course, if an appropriate player comes then money would be available from the owner to buy him."

According to The Sun, Chelsea have earmarked Carlo Ancelotti, the AC Milan coach, to take over as manager after they sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari yesterday. And the British tabloid also claims that the high-ups at San Siro have set their sights on the currently out-of-work Frank Rijkaard to take the Rossonero reins. Scolari was ejected from the Stamford Bridge hot-seat on Monday afternoon, after the weekend's frustrating 0-0 draw with Hull City saw the Blues slip down to fourth in the Premier League table. A host of names have already been linked with the position, including Guus Hiddink, Roberto Mancini, Gianfranco Zola and, remarkably, Avram Grant. But these latest reports suggest that the London club's owner, Roman Abramovich, wants Ancelotti - who was offered the job last summer before Scolari's appointment - to resurrect his drowsing giants. The 49-year-old's footing at Milan is less than secure at the minute, as his still lag in the Scudetto race after failing to capitalise on Juventus and Inter's slip-ups in recent weeks.

Nevertheless, it is thought that the Italian giants won't consider swinging the axe until the end of the season, at which point they are expected to make a move for Rijkaard. The Dutchman has been tracked by a number of clubs since quitting Barcelona last year; Chelsea, curiously enough, are understood to be his biggest admirers. However, the former Diavolo favourite supposedly rejected Atletico Madrid's advances after they booted Javier Aguirre last week, which has led to two separate lines of speculation: either he is not ready to return to coaching, after a tumultuous end to his Barca career; or he has already lined up another gig. It remains to be seen whether either appointment eventuates, especially as the Pensioners are expected to give caretaker boss Ray Wilkins an opportunity to stake his claim.