Iceman

Aguero would be the most likely target. Others we have been linked with - the Benfica winger Angel di Maria, Benfica duo - Fabio Coentrao and Javi Garcia, winger Adam Johnson from Boro, attacking midfielder Alan Dzagoev from Russia, Napoli striker Hamsik, Bolton's defender Gary Cahill, Danish defender Simon Kjaer and some Spanish stopper.

Here's the official statement on the CAS website: http://www.tas-cas.org/news CHELSEA FC - GAËL KAKUTA - RACING CLUB DE LENS: REQUEST FOR STAY GRANTED Lausanne, 6 November 2009 - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has granted the request for a stay filed by Chelsea Football Club Ltd and Mr Gaël Kakuta in relation to the decision taken by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber on 27 August 2009. The FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber imposed, inter alia, a restriction of four months’ ineligibility on Mr Gaël Kakuta, and Chelsea Football Club Ltd was banned from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for the next two complete, consecutive registration periods. Such sanctions are now stayed until the CAS renders its final decision in this matter.

That article from October 2008?

And Degen got sent off too. :-))) 8 red cards in the Prem today so far and 27 goals.

How many times has Carvalho lost his man at set pieces this season? Dear me. Time for a fit Alex to replace Ricky. Also time for Zhirkov or Cole to get a run out in place of Malouda. Desperately missing Ballack today again. No coincidence our 2 defeats have been when he hasn't been playing. The diamond suits him and he is great at defending set pieces. Our finishing today was woeful (Always shot at the keeper). Our defending at set peices was even worse. Ancelotti very worrying in that he has no Plan B. Appears unable or refuses to change the system if it is not working and his failure to bring on the right subs early on enough in the game (when they could make a difference - not in the 85th minute) is scandalous. 4 attackers on the bench FFS !! Losing from the 61st minute, yet only brings on Joe in the 85th !!! And Ivan is not a right back. Would have been far better to have put on Belletti there. Bad day at the office all round but worryingly, a hell of a lot to sort out in training tomorrow!

Well, well, well. In today's France Football... http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/scout-b...row-101500.html

Good stuff. Keep sending all research found to the club. [email protected]

[email protected] should do it

Rap Scallion - I assume you are either a journalist hoping for a bite, or an opposition fan wind-up. Clearly you are not a Chelsea fan. Best you go and play somewhere else.

but if that letter exists, there is no case !

As Sunday Supplement reported this morning on Sky, one paper has led with the story that Chelsea has a letter from UEFA agreeing for Chelsea to sign Kakuta as he was not professionally contracted to Lens. If so, what case is there to answer??? The only thing we might possibly have done is "enticement" but that would not bring about a 2 window transfer ban in any shape or form. ------ 6 September 2009 Blues bid to escape FIFA ban by saying Kakuta's ma signed deal Alan Nixon Chelsea will bid to overturn FIFA's transfer ban by claiming Gael Kakuta's mother, rather than the player himself, signed his pre-contract agreement with French club Lens. The Blues have been banned from signing players for the next two transfer windows after FIFA ruled they had illegally induced French teenager Kakuta to break his contract with Lens. Roman Abramovich has appointed top lawyers to spearhead Chelsea's appeal against the punishment and the Londoners believe they have two powerful arguments. First, that it is Kakuta's mother whose signature appears on the precontract rather than the superkid's. Second, that they contacted UEFA about Kakuta's registration and availability before he was signed. Top Chelsea sources say they are "supremely confident" that they will win their appeal after being shocked by the severity of the punishment. Legal experts believe the only possible charge against them is one of 'enticement' - but that is not regarded as a major offence, certainly not one that merits such a long and potentially damaging transfer embargo. Chelsea scouts spotted Kakuta when he was in France's youth team and he joined them while he was 16, despite his pre-contract with Lens. But Blues understand the pre-contract was signed by the player's mother when Kakuta was just 15 and they will argue that it is not legally binding. This could be a landmark case if Chelsea can prove that pre-contracts signed by parents do not stand up in any court. I understand Chelsea's scouting network also did their homework on Kakuta's status before he put pen to paper to join their academy in the summer of 2008. And I can further reveal that calls were made to UEFA who assured Chelsea they could snare him because Kakuta was not registered as a contracted player with Lens. Chelsea are keeping their defence under wraps, but PeopleSport understands they have a letter from UEFA and witness statements from members of their own staff backing their argument. The Stamford Bridge club have been under siege since FIFA dropped the transfer bombshell and they feel they have been picked on wrongly. The next step is an appeal but whatever the outcome of their legal challenge, it will lead to serious debates about the signing of young players. Chelsea were happy to pay compensation to Lens for Kakuta, who is regarded as a major star of the future. Reports that the youngster was offered a signing-on fee of one million euros, plus a £25,000-a-month contract, have not been denied. But because the Londoners rate Kakuta so highly they would have paid even more for him - and that may yet be the outcome of this dispute. Chelsea sporting director Frank Arnesen is believed to be the man behind the push to sign Kakuta, now 18. Champions Manchester United have also come under fire from a French club - Le Havre - after signing their highly-rated youth team captain Paul Pogba before he turned professional. United have strenuously denied any wrong-doing but both they and Chelsea have been accused of paying the parents of the players as inducements to sign for them. That 'charge' is nothing new in football and leading scouts and agents have confirmed to PeopleSport that it is almost normal behaviour. One scout, working for a Premier League team, said: "We all know the big clubs can afford to sweeten deals by getting to the parents. "But what is wrong with that? Their kids are going to be making big money when they grow up - so why shouldn't clubs pay for that privilege in advance? "The clubs are only screaming because they want a lot of compensation for developing them. But there is a system in place for that." A top agent, who has brought some leading teenagers to England, said: "Big sums of money are involved but who loses out of this? "You could find a leading Premier League team forking out thousands to a 15-year-old's family and then the lad doesn't make it. It's a gamble, but many are willing to take it. "There is nothing underhand in this. "If it was your child and someone wanted to secure his future - and pay you to sign for them - why should that be stopped?" http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_...-name_page.html

Well done Chelsea - no bloody ambition in the transfer market again !

Does it offend you if I do? Suggest you don't read them then. It will be near 2 months - as the ACoN are allowed the players for warm training 2 weeks in advance. And am sure Drogba/Kalou's Ivory Coast team and Essien's Ghana team will go all the way. If Ghana do not, there is the 3rd and 4th team play-off at the end of the tournament they need to stay for to play.

We do need him mate. We will be without Drogba and Kalou for 2 months in Jan - relying on just Anelka and Sturridge during that time would be foolish. What if Anelka gets injured? Also, we are without Drogba for the group stages of the CL. Aguero would fully complement our squad. Everyone can see that !

Definately hope not. We need a top, top young striker and/or a pacy, attacking right-sided player !

Maybe we could give them Kalou on a season-long loan as part of the deal. Will help them in the qualifiers this week.

But if we match his buyout clause now, surely Atletico have to let us speak to him. There is still 2 weeks for them to get someone else in. If not, we should throw in Pizarro & Sheva for them to use in the CL. I don't believe this transfer saga is over yet.

Would be gutted if Chelsea doesn't get Aguero !!

Absolutely. He would be a perfect foil for Drogba or Anelka and would give us that much needed pace which is so blatantly missing from our attack. Come on Chelsea - the kid is only 21 too. Where is Roman's ambition about Chelsea being the best?

After the Inter game, Carlo said he expected 4 or 5 out and possible 2 to 3 in. So I'd imagine our transfer business will happen when they get back from the US. I am still pinning my hopes on Aguero being one.

Oh dear !! Tomorrow's Guardian - If that is not blatant tapping up FFS !! http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/ju...es-transfer-bid 'Stale' John Terry wants to join Manchester City, says Mark Hughes • City manager confident of signing 'Mr Chelsea' guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 July 2009 23.00 BST John Terry, the Chelsea captain, may be seeking a new challenge according to the Manchester City manager, Mark Hughes. Photograph: Adam Davy/Empics Sport Mark Hughes broke his silence on the John Terry affair today to speak of his confidence that the England captain wanted to join Manchester City and publicly question whether the man who has portrayed himself as Mr Chelsea needed "a change of scenery" for the good of his own career. Hughes described Terry as an "outstanding player and an outstanding person" and made it clear that City had targeted him because they had received information that he was agitating to leave Stamford Bridge. The City manager accepted there were some players in the world, such as Steven Gerrard and Lionel Messi, who could never be persuaded to leave their clubs but argued that Terry did not fall into that category and painted a picture of the 28-year-old beginning to feel stale at the place where he has spent his entire career. "We would like to think we could offer John a different challenge," Hughes said. "He's been at Chelsea a long time and I know from my own experience as a player that when you have been with a club for a long time you get to a point when you think you need a new challenge and that a change of scenery would re-ignite certain things within you. "It is not a question of finance, or money, it is about a different challenge, and John being at a different stage in his life and his career, and maybe that is why there hasn't been a response [to commit himself to Chelsea] because John is seriously thinking in those terms. I went through that process myself as a player and I can understand if that is the way he is thinking." Those remarks will inevitably go down badly at Stamford Bridge at a time when Chelsea are aggressively trying to repel City's advances and have not wavered from their public stance that Terry is not available at any price. Hughes, however, felt sufficiently emboldened to question whether Terry recognised City were "on the cusp of something" and he was speaking from a position of strength after several months of detailed inquiries behind the scenes to ascertain the defender's exact position. The last message Hughes received was on Monday morning when he was reliably informed that Terry wanted, if possible, to leave Chelsea in as dignified a way as possible but that, were it necessary, he was also willing to force through a move. City's information, as revealed by the Guardian in February, is that he has become disillusioned about Chelsea's perceived lack of ambition in the transfer market and the frequency with which the club have changed managers. Information has also reached City that he has difficulties with several other members of the dressing room and, as Hughes indicated, that he feels like his career needs a new challenge. The huge sums of money on offer cannot be overlooked, with City willing to make him the highest-paid player in the Premier League on around £250,000 a week. City have spent £54m on Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry this summer and Hughes's spending will go through the £200m mark if, as expected, the club complete the £25m signing of Emmanuel Adebayor today. The fee has been agreed but Adebayor has asked for permission to sleep on it. The Togo international is worried how the move would be perceived in Africa but Hughes is confident of getting his man. "It's well documented that we moved away from Samuel Eto'o and decided we wanted Adebayor, and it's quite close." City's next move will be to inform Chelsea they are willing to pay in excess of £30m for Terry. On two separate occasions Hughes pointedly described Terry as being a Chelsea player "at this moment in time" and the manager added: "We know there are other areas of the team we need to address now. We've made an offer to Chelsea and I've made my feelings known in terms of my respect for John Terry. I think he's an outstanding player and an outstanding person. I've thought that since I first met him when he was a young boy at Chelsea and I was a player there, and if the opportunity has presented itself to bring a player of that calibre to the club we will try our hardest to do it. We've already had conversations with Chelsea to that regard and we would like the opportunity to speak to John Terry now."

To be faor, hardly similar. Gerrard wanted to move to a PL team that had a top manager, were winning silverware and were regulars in the Champions League. Hardly the same for John Terry if he plumps for Man City - a mid table PL team with a rooky manager, a club not in Europe in any form ! if he moves, it will be for non sporting reasons - purely for the cash £££££££££££££££ !!

How can JT speak to Man City without CFC's permission (proof of blatant tapping up otherwise and a legal suit with the FA surely) or without putting in a transfer request? JT can't have it any other way.

What a terrible signing if indeed he is Chelsea's marquee target. So depressing

How depressing to be linked with Ibrahimovich. Surely our scouts can do better than get him. What happened to Aguero & Pato, two world class players in the making. Instead, in looks like we are getting a decidedly average player. Hardly a marquue signing. And there was me hoping that Hiddink had helped sort out of targets for this Summer !