Pompey target Wright-Phillips happy at Chelsea - Scolari

	Portsmouth target Shaun Wright-Phillips, seen here, is happy at Chelsea and will stay with the club, according to coach Luiz Felipe Scolari

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Portsmouth target Shaun Wright-Phillips is happy at Chelsea and will stay with the club, according to coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

"I have talked to Shaun and he said he is happy at Chelsea," said the Brazilian, who is leading the Blues on a three-stop Asian swing as they build towards their August 17 Premier League opener -- against Portsmouth.

"I said to him 'okay, just do your job'. The decision of course is not just for me but also the board. But I think Shaun will stay with us. He has done a good job till now and the players love him."

In Macau on Sunday Scolari claimed ignorance that Wright-Phillips had been strongly linked with the south coast club.

Pompey boss Harry Redknapp has admitted he would love to sign the England winger to complement his other new signing Peter Crouch.

"We have spent some money on Peter Crouch, so the situation is that we have two other options but Shaun Wright-Phillips is a terrific player," he said earlier this month.

"You're always looking for one or two players to improve your squad."

Chelsea play a Malaysian Select XI here on Tuesday to wrap up an Asian tour that has seen them score 11 goals so far in two matches.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, lost 2-1 to Manchester United in a pre-season friendly in Lagos on Sunday. They beat Nigerian champions Kano Pillars 5-0 on Saturday.

Kenyon says Lampard, Drogba to stay with Chelsea

	Chelsea football club´s captain Frank Lampard. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon expects Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko to start the season at Stamford Bridge, and has reiterated the club´s interest in Robinho

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon expects Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko to start the season at Stamford Bridge, and has reiterated the club's interest in Robinho.

"There is a Chelsea position that we do not sell our best players. We don't want to and we don't need to," he told AFP Monday.

"We have always said, whatever happens, we want Frank to stay. He's still got one year left and we expect him to be in a Chelsea shirt next season.

"As for Didier, he has two years on his contract. There are always noises about Didier but the only reason he is not here is because of rehab because we want him 100 percent fit for next season.

"Sheva -- he's part of the squad of 23 and there's no one is that squad who is not contributing. Everyone we believe is capable of delivering the goods."

The Chelsea transfer rumour mill has gone into overdrive ahead of the new Premier League season, and according to British weekend reports they are now ready to meet Lampard's demand of a five-year contract extension.

This would be worth 150,000 pounds a week (300,000 dollars) to the 30-year-old England international in a blockbuster deal worth 39 million pounds.

The player and club have been involved in a year-long contractual stand-off, with Chelsea only prepared to extend the length of any deal to four years, sparking speculation that he could move to Inter Milan.

Meanwhile Drogba has said he wants his future sorted out as soon as possible after indicating he wanted to leave after falling out with former coach Jose Mourinho.

"As for my future at Chelsea, well I have a contract with the club that is clear. But my agents will have a meeting in London and then it will be known once and for all," he was quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror at the weekend.

The striker has been subject of interest from AC Milan and Barcelona.

Shevchenko has endured a miserable time since his move from AC Milan in 2006 and the Italian club would like to re-sign him, but new Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is keen to offer him a fresh start.

Kenyon and Scolari have already brought in two new players -- Jose Boswingwa and Deco -- and Kenyon made clear they want one more and Real Madrid's Robinho is the target.

"We've stated that he is our target," he said.

"But for Madrid replacements are as big an issue as letting people go. They've made their position clear, if they can do a transaction it will be easier. We're still in discussions with them."

Kenyon added that the club was keen to play attractive football, as well as win trophies.

"The first objective was to improve the infrastructure and win trophies. It's what our fans want and we succeeded. But football's about entertainment and we want to play good football," he said.

"We want to be a team that wins in style and that's about the club growing up."

Chelsea romped past Chengdu Blades 7-0 on Saturday after thrashing Guangzhou Pharmaceutical last week in their first two games under Scolari.

They play a Malaysian XI in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday and then head to Moscow for the Railways Cup.

Gareth Barry more likely to stay now

	Gareth Barry of Aston Villa

With each passing day it appears less likely that Gareth Barry will be at Liverpool, well for the time being anyway.

Liverpool have just spent ₤20 million on acquiring Robbie Keane from Tottenham Hotspur which tends to suggest that interest in Aston Villa’s midfielder Gareth Barry has waned.

Villa’s boss Martin O’Neill, when asked about the current situation, said that he and the club had always wanted the twenty seven year old England midfielder to stay.

He went on to add that Barry still had a future at the club and that he is still likely to be a part of Fabio Capello’s plans in the England setup which would be enhanced with the club playing in Europe.

Barcelona to take Messi on US tour despite Olympic row

	Barcelona could take Argentine playmaker Lionel Messi, seen here in February 2008, on tour to Italy and the United States later this week even if FIFA orders the Spanish club to release him for the Olympic Games, a newspaper reported Monday.

MADRID (AFP) - Barcelona could take Argentine playmaker Lionel Messi on tour to Italy and the United States later this week even if FIFA orders the Spanish club to release him for the Olympic Games, a newspaper reported Monday.

FIFA are expected to issue a ruling on Tuesday to settle a dispute between the Argentine Football Federation, who have called on the 21-year-old for the Olympics, and Barcelona who want to keep the player for early Champions League matches in August.

Barcelona-based sports daily El Mundo Deportivo reported Monday that the world football governing body will likely side with the Argentines but the Catalan club will then take the dispute to the sport's highest appeal body, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In the meantime Barcelona will take Messi on upcoming tours of Italy and the United States, it added.

Barcelona heads to Italy on Wednesday where they will face Fiorentina in a friendly before heading to the United States two days later.

The squad will face Mexican side Chivas de Guadalajara in Chicago un Sunday and the New York Red Bulls three days later in New York.

Messi was the star of the two friendlies which Barcelona played during their pre-season training camp last week in Scotland.

He contributed one goal during their 6-0 win over Scottish side Hibs on Thursday and hit a hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Dundee United two days later.

FIFA have insisted that the release of under-23 players is mandatory but that clubs can refuse to release over-age players.

The Olympic football tournament takes place from August 6-23 but Barcelona have a Champions League qualifier on either August 12 or 1

Fabregas pledges loyalty to Arsenal

LONDON (AFP) - Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has slammed a report suggesting he is considering a move to Real Madrid.

Fabregas was a key member of the Spain squad that won Euro 2008 and according to a report last weekend in Spanish sports newspaper Marca he was quoted as saying he might move to the Bernabeu, especially if Arsenal did not win a trophy this season.

But in a statement the 21-year-old told Arsenal's official website here Monday: "I have not spoken to any media so it's frustrating to read quotes that I have supposedly said about my future

"I have spent the summer relaxing with my family, friends and girlfriend and I return to training with Arsenal tomorrow (Tuesday).

"I think that some people are just trying to make mischief but my intentions are very clear.

"I am happy here at Arsenal, my future is with Arsenal and the priority is to achieve success and win trophies at Arsenal."

Michael Ballack

News July 26th, 2008 05:22

Star midfielder Michael Ballack said he had nothing left to prove in the latter part of his career and backed Chelsea´s 30-somethings to have the last laugh over Manchester United´s Alex Ferguson

Chelsea´s Bosingwa to miss start of season: Scolari

Written by: AFP
2008-07-26 14:02:13

	New Chelsea signing Jose Bosingwa attends a press conference at Chelsea´s training ground in Cobham, south of London, July 16. Bosingwa faces at least three weeks on the sidelines with a torn thigh muscle, the club has said.

MACAU (AFP) - New Chelsea signing Jose Bosingwa will miss the start of the Premier League season after being forced out of their Asian tour with a thigh injury, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said on Saturday.

The Portugal right-back is out for at least three weeks with a muscle tear, ruling him out of Chelsea's August 17 season opener against Portsmouth. Bosingwa, 25, lasted just 20 minutes of his debut this week.

"I think he's out for the first match against Portsmouth," Scolari said. "But I have players for this position so it's not a problem for us."

Chelsea beat Chinese Super League outfit Chengdu Blades 7-0 in their second tour match later on Saturday. They now head to Malaysia before completing their pre-season in Russia.