Banished: Nicolas Anelka (left) and Alex (right) have
been banned from using first-team facilities at Chelsea's training
ground
Chelsea will
listen to offers for six senior players in January as owner Roman
Abramovich backs Andre Villas-Boas to rebuild the
club.
Sportsmail can
reveal that Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Jose Bosingwa and Paulo
Ferreira are available for transfer, news which follows the weekend
announcement that transfer requests from Nicolas Anelka and Alex
had been accepted.
The France striker and Brazil defender have been
banned from using first-team facilities at the club’s training
ground, with Anelka set to sign a £6.4million-a-year deal with
Shanghai Shenhua in China.
Drogba and Kalou scored in Saturday’s 3-0 win at
Newcastle but are out of contract next year and free to sign a
pre-contract deal with a foreign club in January.
The Ivorian strikers are also destined for the
Africa Cup of Nations, which starts on January 21 and could rule
them out for up to six weeks of the season.
A lucrative move to the Middle East is understood
to appeal to Drogba, who is 34 in March but will not be short of
offers to extend his career.
Arsenal have always shown interest in Kalou and
Juventus remain keen on Alex despite his alarming loss of
form.
It proves owner Abramovich is preparing to back
Villas-Boas, who is so anxious to refresh the squad that Alex and
Anelka were told on Friday they could not use the main training
centre when the first team are in the building.
It is the ultimate humiliation for two players
who have been a huge part of Chelsea for the past three
years.
Chelsea players were stunned when the pair, both
popular characters in the dressing room, had their lockers cleared.
Both have also been told they are no longer welcome to park in the
first-team car park.
They believe they are being deliberately
humiliated after being told to put their cars in the communal
parking area next to the academy.
Villas-Boas has also told the pair they are no
longer welcome to train with the first-team squad after they put in
transfer requests. Instead they have separate training programmes,
which are thought to include working with the reserves, academy and
on their own.
Chelsea’s win at Newcastle eased them back into
the top four but competition for the Champions League places looks
set to be intense in the Barclays Premier League.
Chelsea’s first concern is to extend this
season’s Champions League campaign by beating Valencia at Stamford
Bridge on Tuesday. The key to the longer-term project will be
whether Villas-Boas, who insists he has been promised three years
to complete his work, is allowed full control over his transfer
targets.
The Portuguese manager reputedly has a good eye
for players, dating back to his scouting past, yet Abramovich
continues to listen to advice from a disparate selection of
independent advisers.
On the way? Gary Cahill (right) is set to join from
Bolton
Chelsea are expected to win the race to sign Gary
Cahill from Bolton next month with the intention of pairing him
with John Terry and releasing Branislav Ivanovic to play at right
back.
Some within the club believe it may be the right
time to elevate highly-rated defender Nathaniel Chalobah, 17 next
week, to the first-team squad.
Josh McEachran and Ryan Bertrand will be allowed
out on loan in January if reinforcements can be signed. Villas-Boas
would also like to add left-sided Porto utility man Alvaro Pereira
to his squad, and Chelsea have opened talks for Universidad de
Chile striker Eduardo Vargas, according to reports in
Chile.
Vargas, 22, may face work-permit issues and is
unlikely to be a top target to fill the boots of Drogba and
Anelka.
Tentative enquiries were made for David Villa in
the summer and the striker has slipped out of favour at Barcelona.
There is a long-standing interest in Lille’s Eden Hazard. Chelsea
were told to come back in 12 months when they made contact last
January.
Out of favour: Jose Bosingwa (left) and Paulo Ferreira
(right)
Free to leave: Ivorian pair Didier Drogba (left) and
Salomon Kalou (right)
