Falcao, Varane, Pogba - who should Chelsea sign this summer?

The Blues have been linked with a host of big names as they look to defend the two trophies they won in 2015-16, but who should they be looking to bring in?

While most of the Premier League's top sides look to overhaul their squads, Chelseaand Jose Mourinho look set to stick with the majority of the side that won the Premier League so impressively last season.

However, that does not mean that the Stamford Bridge side are not looking to add a couple of new faces to their team ahead of the 2015-16 campaign.

The first of those players set to arrive is Radamel Falcao, and the Monaco striker, who flopped at Manchester United last season, is on the verge of completing a switch to the champions on a one-year loan deal.

That is unlikely to be the only bit of business Mourinho does this summer, as he may well be looking to strengthen his midfield in a bid to make a push for the Champions League.

The Blues are among a host of clubs locked in a battle to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus with the France international looking set to leave Turin, while Shakhtar Donetsk's Douglas Costa may be a more affordable option.

Further back, links with Real Madrid's Raphael Varane refuse to go away with the 22-year-old struggling to hold down a regular place at Santiago Bernabeu.

And though Mourinho has refuted claims he is keen on Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann, it remains a possibility that the former Real Sociedad man could join the Premier League champions.

But which player should Mourinho be making his primary target?

Cech denies agreeing Arsenal move

The Czech Republic goalkeeper is reportedly set to join the Gunners this week, but retweeted a post by his management company on Twitter denying talk of any agreement

Petr Cech's agent has denied the goalkeeper has agreed to leave Chelsea and joinArsenal.

Cech is widely expected to bring an end to his 11-year stay at Stamford Bridge and move to London rivals Arsenal, having seen his first-team opportunities limited due to the presence of Thibaut Courtois.

However, after reports indicated an announcement was imminent, Cech took the unusual step of sharing a message posted by his management company - The Sports PR Company - on Twitter.

The message retweeted by Cech read: "...as we told you, No transfer deal has been done yet for @PetrCech - as soon as [there is] any news @PetrCech will confirm."

Earlier on Monday, John Terry suggested Arsenal would benefit greatly should they manage to capture the vastly experienced Cech, a winner of four Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the 2012 Champions League during his time with Chelsea. 

Chelsea captain Terry told talkSPORT: "There's talk of Arsenal signing Petr Cech and, if they do get him, he will strengthen them for sure. He will save them 12 or 15 points a season."

Mourinho loves taking credit for everything - Pellegrini

The Chilean says he is the polar opposite of the Chelsea manager, who won the Premier League title last season, but insists they are not "enemies"

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has taken a swipe at rival boss Jose Mourinho, saying the Chelsea coach takes credit for “everything”.

The Portuguese guided the Blues to Premier League glory last season, finishing eight points ahead of defending champions City in second place.

But Pellegrini believes the manner in which the two coaches celebrated their respective title wins highlights key differences in their characters, with the Chilean intimating that Mourinho took the limelight away from his players.

“When he wins, Mourinho wants to take credit for everything. I never do that,” Pellegrini told Chilean newspaper El Mercurio. “When I won the Premier League, I didn’t say a word."

The two managers have endured a fractious relationship ever since Mourinho replaced Pellegrini at Real Madrid, though the City boss insists he does not hold a grudge against his Chelsea counterpart.

“I don’t have any problem with Mourinho,” he continued. “He’s not my enemy and there isn’t any conflict - but I differ from him on all fronts. I have no interest in analysing him as a person.”

Chelsea v Liverpool Preview: Rodgers out to topple champions

The Reds still harbour hopes of qualifying for this season's Champions League at the expense of Manchester United, and the 42-year-old is aware they must win at Stamford Bridge

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is full of praise for Premier League champions Chelsea, but insists that his side will not be overawed when they travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Liverpool, having gone so close to winning the title themselves last season, have fallen off the pace in 2014-15 but still harbour hopes of overtaking Manchester United and claiming a top-four finish.

With three matches of the season remaining, Rodgers' side are four points behind Louis van Gaal's side, and the Northern Irishman is acutely aware that the Reds must take all three points away from west London.

"We're going into the game at the weekend looking to win," Rodgers said.

"Chelsea are obviously deserved champions, they've been the best team, but all we can do is control the last three games, look to win those and see where we end up. I'm purely focused on the game.

"I congratulated [Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho]. They're the deserving champions and to win it with a few games to go is obviously pleasing for him.

"But it doesn't take away from what we're looking to do and we want to finish the season strong."

Mourinho has denied that Chelsea's players were given four days off to celebrate after last weekend's victory over Crystal Palace, and Rodgers does not expect the Blues to have any kind of hangover on Sunday.

"I think if they've had a few days off then they deserve it," he added. "They've won the league and they can celebrate that.

"They're top players, professional players and every game is important for them and they'll look to go into our game and win that."

Mourinho, meanwhile, pinpointed Chelsea's 5-3 loss at Tottenham on New Year's Day as the pivotal moment in their title challenge, with the champions unbeaten in their 15 league matches since then.

"The key moment was the stability after losing at Spurs, everybody stuck together and we were very calm," he said on Friday.

"What pleases me is winning the title, the way we did it and the consistency we've shown in difficult periods.

"We want to win our matches, we have three difficult games. We don't need to win but we want to try to win points."

Mourinho still has fitness concerns over Diego Costa (hamstring), Ramires (illness) and Oscar (thigh), while for Rodgers, Mario Balotelli (foot) is back in contention although Mamadou Sakho (hamstring) remains out.

Gattuso: How to stop Messi? Kick him

 The former Italy international says he would use physical force to stop the forward in his tracks after watching his incredible display in Europe on Wednesday

Gennaro Gattuso has joined Lionel Messi's long list of admirers by joking that the only way of stopping him is to kick the Barcelona man.
The Argentina star lit up the Champions League on Wednesday with two goals in his side's 3-0 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their semi-final.
Various high-profile figures have since praised Messi's continued brilliance and Gattuso - who was famed for his physical approach during his playing days - says it is almost impossible to stop him.
The former Italy and AC Milan midfielder said to reporters: "How to stop him? I would not know how to coach players to do that. Perhaps man marking - or even a little kick!"
Messi's first goal saw him rifle home from the edge of the box, but his second was even better as the 27-year-old twisted past Jerome Boateng before clipping over goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.






source;goal.com