Carlo Ancelotti has rubbished reports Chelsea are ready to sign Benfica left-back Fabio Coentrao as a replacement for Ashley Cole.
Ancelotti was linked with a move for Coentrao following claims Cole had told the Blues boss he wants to join Real Madrid to escape the recent scrutiny into his private life.
But Ancelotti is determined to keep Cole and said of the Coentrao rumours: “It’s not true, totally rubbish.”
While Ancelotti isn’t in the hunt for a replacement for Cole, he does want to bolster his options in midfield and is said to be close to signing Ramires from Benfica for £18m.
Securing Fabregas a ‘huge lift’
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger turned his attention to the start of the Premier League season after securing the future of talisman Cesc Fabregas.
The summer’s most high-profile transfer saga appears to be over after Barcelona target Fabregas confirmed on Friday he is “100% focused” on playing for the Gunners this season.
It was a great piece of news for the Gunners, who refused to negotiate with Barcelona over a player whose contract runs until 2014.
“He is our captain, he is our leader,” Wenger said.
“When I was at the World Cup I met so many people in South Africa and the first thing I heard was ‘Don’t let Fabregas go’. That means it is a huge lift for everybody who loves the club.”
Rangers still hope to sign Jelavic
Rangers manager Walter Smith believes the Scottish champions are still in the hunt to sign Croatia striker Nikica Jelavic from Rapid Vienna.
Smith revealed that Rangers chief executive Martin Bain had failed to seal a deal for Jelavic after flying to Austria this week, but talks are continuing and he is hopeful of a positive conclusion.
“Negotiations with both the club, the player and his agents are ongoing,” Smith said.
“He’s a player we have been watching for a while. As normal, the club initially weren’t too keen to sell, but then they indicated they would be happy to listen to what we had to say.”
The 24-year-old scored 21 goals last season, including three against Celtic in the Europa League.
Mertesacker: Samp draw tough task
Werder Bremen’s Per Mertesacker admits his side will have to be at their very best to reach the group stages of the Champions League after being drawn against Sampdoria in the final qualifying round.
Bremen play host to the Blucerchiati in the first leg at the Weser Stadion on August 17 or 18 before travelling to Genoa for the decisive return leg a week later.
“That is certainly not an easy task,” Mertesacker said.
“When a team comes fourth in Italy and finishes ahead of Juventus in the league, then that says something. It is going to be tight and anything but a top performance will not do.”
Tigana relishing new challenge
New Bordeaux coach Jean Tigana is relishing being back at the helm of a French side 11 years after leaving Monaco and having a spell in England with Fulham, the former France star said.
“Certainly I shall be a little emotional,” the Euro 2004 winner admitted as he prepared for today’s trip to Montpellier.
“Preparations have gone well – there have been no major problems,” said Tigana, who has to raise the bar for a Bordeaux side which won the league in 2009 to break a seven-year streak by Lyon but which last year fell away to miss out on European qualification altogether.
The club then lost coach Laurent Blanc to the French national side after the controversial reign of Raymond Domenech came to an ignominious close at the World Cup.
Mensah set for Sunderland return
Ghana international John Mensah is to return to Sunderland on loan, according to French club Lyon.
The Black Cats are yet to confirm any deal, but according to a Lyon statement, Mensah will sign a season-long deal worth €500,000, with an option to purchase.
The deal will become permanent if the 27-year-old defender plays more than 25 games, at which point Sunderland would pay a further €5,500,000.
On Friday, Sunderland said on their website that no deal was yet in place and was unlikely before next week. Mensah made 18 appearances for Sunderland while on loan from Lyon last season.
Bonera penalty gives Milan shootout win
Daniele Bonera scored the deciding goal in a penalty shootout for Milan after playing a goalless draw with Panathinaikos in a friendly in Michigan late on Friday.
The shootout was deadlocked until the fourth Panathinaikos shooter, Antonios Petropoulas, fired wide of the goal, setting the stage for Bonera to net the winner.
A goal controversy came in the 55th minute when Sidney Govou’s shot for the Greek champions deflected off the crossbar and flirted with crossing the goal line before being cleared by Bonera. No goal was awarded.
The exhibition match was played on a temporary grass field. The crowd of 30,514 left the Pontiac Silverdome less than half-filled for the match.