Chelsea plans £100m spending spree on Pirlo, Ribery & Aguero
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Roman Abramovich plans £100m Chelsea spending spree for Andrea Pirlo, Franck Ribery and Sergio Aguero
On his way: AC Milan and Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo is destined to follow Andriy Shevchenko's footsteps from the San Siro and join Chelsea this week
Chelsea expect to complete the signing of Andrea Pirlo this week and will then intensify their efforts to lure Franck Ribery and Sergio Aguero to Stamford Bridge.
The trio would cost Roman Abramovich the best part of £100million in transfer fees alone but the Chelsea owner is determined to prove he has not lost the appetite to compete in the transfer market, despite a slow start to his summer trading.
When John Terry agreed to commit his future to the club last week, he cited a pledge from Abramovich to bolster the squad with star names as a key reason.
Since then, Chelsea have stepped up their pursuit of 30-year-old Pirlo and are bracing themselves to fight Manchester United for both Aguero and Ribery in a pre-season transfer duel which could prove crucial to this season's Barclays Premier League title race.
AC Milan are wary of the potential reaction from their supporters after seeing the popular trio of Ancelotti, Paolo Maldini and Kaka all leave the San Siro this summer.
Vice-president Adriano Galliani and new manager Leonardo have consistently claimed Pirlo is not for sale, but they are aware he is anxious to follow his mentor to Stamford Bridge and Milan are privately committed to rejuvenating their ageing squad to compete with Inter Milan.
PEERLESS PIRLO
Born: Flero, northern Italy
Age: 30.
Clubs: Brescia, Inter, Reggina (on loan), Brescia (on loan), AC Milan.
Club honours (all with AC Milan): 2 Champions Leagues, 1 Serie A title, 1 Italian Cup, 2 European Super Cups, 1 Italian Super Cup, 1 Club World Cup.
Italy caps: 59. Goals: 8.
International honours: World Cup winner 2006 (man of the match), Olympic bronze medal, European Under-21 titleMilan rejected Chelsea's initial approach for Pirlo but an improved bid of £12million plus striker Claudio Pizarro could persuade them to do business, possibly in time for the Italian midfielder to make his debut against Manchester United in the Community Shield.
Sunday's clash at Wembley will be the precursor to an August duel between Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson because United are also keen on signing Aguero from Atletico Madrid, who rate him at £45m.
Personal terms may yet prove the stumbling block for Aguero, on target in London for Atletico against Paris St-Germain in the pre-season Emirates Cup on Sunday.
The Argentine wanted weekly wages close to £200,000 a week when there was initial interest from Chelsea and United at the start of the transfer window but he will have to lower his demands to secure a move to the Barclays Premier League.
Spot on: Chelsea are keen on Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero - but his wage demands could prove a potential stumbling block
Talk to Franck: Ribery is another Blues target and the Frenchman is eager to quit Bayern Munich
Ancelotti, though, has identified the need for more energy in Chelsea's attack, which is why he is encouraging Abramovich to force through deals for Aguero and Ribery, either of which would break Manchester City's British transfer record of £34m for Robinho.
United have also shown an interest in Ribery, as have Barcelona and Real Madrid during a summer of transfer rumours surrounding the winger, but Chelsea believe they will have the edge in the race for the French international, who wants to leave Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid, Ribery's first choice of destination, have cooled their interest since landing Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo and Abramovich, who has pursued the gifted 26-year-old through the summer, is prepared to go through the £40m barrier to add Ribery's raw pace to his experienced Chelsea squad.
Bayern insist Ribery must honour his contract with the German side but this stance will be tested by the millions on offer as the days tick towards the transfer deadline at the end of the month.
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I don't see why Ribery should come....when theres Malouda & Zhirkov
Worst thing is that Ancelotti not even using wingers. -
2 weeks to the start of the season and they haven buy any big players yet lol? want to wait until last day of the season on 31 August is it lol.