Move forward a couple of days. Now, we’re reading — via the Sun — that Inter Milan are looking to hijack the move. Or, perhaps you prefer the stories reporting that Roman Abramovich is souring on the idea of blowing a British record fee on the 21-year-old Argentinian.

So, I ask: What are you feelings on the man who is rearing Diego Maradona’s grandchild? Should Chelsea splash the cash on Kun Aguero? Let me know.

Wow. Of course, it was rejected by David Moyes & Co. who value Rodwell at £20m. Hmm, a hefty sum that. Is this young starlet worth it?

Worth a cool 20 million?

Of course not. But he’s young and English. Thus ridiculous fees are inherent.

What I do know is that this kid can play. Primarily a defensive midfielder, Rodwell — who has also attracted the interest of Manchester United and Arsenal — has already made 18 appearances this season for the Toffees. This at just 18 years old. His long-term future appears to be in the central of defense, where most reckon he’ll be the next Rio Ferdinand — minus the dip in form, naturally.

Do I like this move? I do, I really do. I’m not sure about £20m, but 15 would be good business. What do you guys think?

Here I was, about to discuss our fallacies at Villa Park – with a CL preview to follow – when I come across this atrocity. Cue the projectile vomiting. Your thirst for sensationalism knows no bounds, Daily Mail. I thank you.

What do you think? Is the Canadian-born Dutch midfielder worth a  £4 million punt?

If you’ve spoken to England’s Brave John Terry – currently employed by Chelsea by the way — or his representatives, tell us. If not, then keep the man’s name out of your mouth.

What is this man on about?

Today, after revealing Carlos Tevez to the media, the Manchester City manager spoke on Terry. From the looks of these quotes, he must have been at ease with the subject, almost brimming with confidence that Mr. Chelsea would be Mr. City in the near future. The quotes read as if Hughes knows something we don’t; as if he knows something the Chelsea suits don’t.

I don’t like it, either. If he’s just running off at the mouth, then this is appalling. If not, then damn; be concerned.

Via the Guardian …

“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 is quoted as saying. ‘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 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.’

The Chelsea captain has been the subject of persistent interest from Manchester City this offseason, with at least one bid already being rejected. These approaches follow a similar pursuit of Terry from City during last season’s January transfew window.

Club officials, including new manager Carlo Ancelotti, chief executive Peter Kenyon and chairman Bruce Buck, have sternly stated that England’s Brave John Terry is NOT FOR SALE. Romes is said to be adamant about retaining Terry.

Who we haven’t heard from, though — the most critical piece in this puzzle — is Mr. Chelsea himself. The man has been MIA since news of City’s bid first surfaced. It’s puzzling, and unassuring, to be sure.

Why hasn’t he publicly stated his desire to stay at his boyhood club? What has prompted his silence?

Is he actually considering leaving Chelsea? We don’t know, and that may be the biggest indication yet that there is a little more to this than perhaps we thought.

Tomorrow not only marks Terry’s return to training; he’s also scheduled for so-called “showdown” talks with members of the club hierarchy including Ancelotti. It’s not known if Romes will be in attendance, but you’d think he would be considering the significance.

Does this meeting point to even more fracture between Terry and the club? Or is simply a standard sit down? It’s hard to tell, really.

A report in the Sun — yes, the Sun, so take it with a grain of salt — suggests Terry may feel underappreciated at Chelsea. The author, Ian McGarry, introduces some pretty baseless points but does mention the length in which it took JT to get a new deal in 2007, a process which apparently included an insulting offer of 95K per week. The story goes on to suggest, via a “club source” that “Terry is seen as a declining asset rather than a valuable commodity.”

Hmmmm.

There’s also this idea that Terry is upset with the apparent lack of communication between he and the club regarding the City dealings. This report that has been rubbished by the club and sounds bogus to me – but you never know.

All this, however unsubstantiated it is, gives us a possible reason for Terry’s silence thus far. We can only hope this man, Mr. Chelsea, speaks publicly tomorrow and lets us know what’s actually on his mind.

For better or worse.
 

You know I had to focus on this little excerpt from club chairman Bruce Buck’s interview with Chelsea TV.

“We are looking for a marquee name but as you know, as you read about it in the papers, most of the big clubs are chasing the same players. We are only going to get one of those top-notch players and there aren’t very many of them.

“And we are only going to get one of those top-notch players if the price is right and he fits into our team appropriately. But we are looking and we are optimistic.”

You’ve got to like the sound of that.

What’s more thrilling, though, is the fact that the club is actually chasing world class players. With the current economic climate, and the way it has affected Romes, none of us were really sure what exactly was going on behind the scenes at the club.

Sure, we’ve read the rumors. We’ve seen the names linked with Chelsea: Kaka, Villa, Ribery. But none of us really knew if we were actually pursuing them or not. Now we do — and it’s exhilarating.

Romes is committed and the club’s in good health. Here here.

Buck gave Chelsea TV an exclusive interview. The man spoke on numerous topics, including potential signings, Ancelotti and our newest arrivals. Here’s the transcript.

Bruce Buck or Larry David?

Via Chelseafc.com …

What brought you to the decision of appointing Carlo Ancelotti?

We were looking for a manager who would build for the future and bring us many trophies for many years to come. Carlo has been successful as a manager, winning the coveted Champions League. He has also been a very successful footballer himself, so we think he has all the characteristics to come to Stamford Bridge and bring us success for the long term.

You mention that impressive CV there. What goals, what targets have you set him?

The goals are pretty much the same goals that we have every year, come 15 April we would like to be in contention for two or three cups. If he gets us there then we will be satisfied, if he gets us a little bit further and wins us a big cup or two, then we will be very satisfied.

We have already seen the arrival of a couple of new faces this summer, how many can we expect to see before the season kicks off?

Well, it is hard to say. Candidly, maybe it is none, but we said before the start of the transfer season that we expected four or five players in and a couple out, and that is still our expectation.

We announced [Yuri] Zhirkov, and you know about [Ross] Turnbull and Daniel Sturridge. We are looking for a marquee name but as you know, as you read about it in the papers, most of the big clubs are chasing the same players. We are only going to get one of those top-notch players and there aren’t very many of them.

And we are only going to get one of those top-notch players if the price is right and he fits into our team appropriately. But we are looking and we are optimistic.

You mention Yuri Zhirkov there, how did that deal come about and was Carlo Ancelotti aware of it?

Oh yes, Carlo Ancelotti has been aware of everything we have been doing in the transfer market. We announced that he was manager on 1 June and since then he has been very much involved in the transfer process.

You also referred to some of those marquee names there, how close has Chelsea come to signing a Kaka, a Franck Ribery or a David Villa?

Well obviously not close enough, because we haven’t signed them. But I don’t think you can really say about how close we have come. We are chasing a few and we think they fit in very well with our team, we think we know the right price for these players and there is still a lot of time left in the transfer window, so let’s see how it sorts out.

One other marquee name of our own, John Terry, has been dominating some column inches over the last few days, what’s the official club line on that?

Well the unofficial club line, my line as a Chelsea fan, is that I would be devastated if John Terry left Chelsea, but having said that, it’s not going to happen. John Terry is synonymous with Chelsea and Chelsea is synonymous with John Terry. He has been here since he was a wee tod, he is the captain of Chelsea, he is the captain of England, he is the backbone of our team, he is not leaving.

You mentioned also some of the younger faces such as Daniel Sturridge that we have seen come through our doors. Does that represent a different outlook, a different transfer policy from Chelsea’s perspective?

Well maybe from the outside it may look a little different but really it isn’t. From day one we have said that we want an English spine to the team and we have also said that we wanted to build some young players.

It just so happens that the two young players we have obtained at the beginning of this transfer period makes what we have done pretty obvious, but that has been a policy of the club all along. We want some young players, we want to build some young players, we want to bring young players into the squad as they earn their positions and this is just part and parcel of that.

Get this garbage outta my face.

Just a day earlier, the Times reported Cole was on the verge of signing a four-year deal at £120,000 per week. He’ll put pen to paper, they say, sometime next week. Now this, this I believe.

I mean, really. Do you thnk England can just let Ashley, complete with Cheryl, just move to Spain. What would they write about. And what would we stare at? (see next post)

As expected — like City’s initial inquiry in January — they were quickly told to beat it. This time, however, there was an official statement, a rather snarky one at that. I likes.

Via the official Web Site …

“Chelsea Football Club can confirm it has completely rejected an offer from Manchester City for John Terry.

“It was made clear to City, for the second time following an approach last season, that we would not entertain any conversation on the subject. At that time John also reiterated his total commitment to Chelsea.

“We would like to make clear, and will not do so again, that John is not for sale.”

Gotta love that last sentence. Romes is throwing it down, mob style.

The Guardian’s take on these events is a tad different, suggesting EBJT may well be intrigued by a move to Midlands. Nonsense.

All I’m going to take from that article is the figure being quoted for the transfer, between  £25-30 million.  Really, City? You’re going to insult us with that kind of garbage? At least present a credible £40-plus million offer.

Moving on.