Ancelotti closes window on Chelsea's transfers

Carlo Ancelotti claims Chelsea have finished their business in the summer transfer window.

The Blues have made just three signings this summer, with Ross Turnbull, Daniel Sturridge and Yuri Zhirkov moving to Stamford Bridge.

They have also been linked consistently with AC Milan's Andrea Pirlo as well as Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery. However, as Chelsea prepare for their Community Shield showdown with Manchester United on Sunday, Ancelotti has confirmed there are no plans to add to the squad before the transfer window closes.

"Now we stay with the players I've got. I don't want to take other players because the squad is very competitive,'' said Ancelotti. "We don't need other players and I don't expect to make any more signings before the window shuts.''

Ancelotti also cleared the air over the futures of both midfielder Deco and defender Ricardo Carvalho.

Both players have been linked with a move to Inter Milan, now coached by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who also worked with the pair at Porto.

Mourinho moaned that Chelsea had made it difficult for Inter to sign the pair by increasing the size of the fee.

But Ancelotti claimed Chelsea had never considered selling the duo and confirmed they would be key assets in his squad this season.

"We never talked about selling Carvalho or Deco,'' declared Ancelotti. "They are important players for Chelsea. Carvalho is a very intelligent defender and Deco has a great quality. This team needs the quality of Deco. They will stay at Chelsea for this season.

"We don't have the idea to sell the players. If one player is not happy to stay with us, he has to say it to us. But at the moment nobody asked to go.''

Chelsea have just two injury doubts for Sunday's game with Zhirkov struggling with a knee problem and Joe Cole still recovering from his ligament injury.

"Zhirkov is the only player with a problem,'' said Ancelotti. "He has a knee injury. He didn't train in the last few days and I don't know if he can play Sunday. He is the only one. Maybe we have to wait two days and then we will see if it is possible for him to play.''

After just one month in the job and a successful pre-season campaign behind him, Ancelotti is enjoying life at Stamford Bridge and cannot wait for the competitive season to get under way.

"We had a good pre-season,'' said Ancelotti. "We didn't have injuries, we worked hard and very well with a very good mental attitude.

"I think we are ready to start this season against Manchester United on Sunday. It will be a very difficult match but we are excited and very happy to play at Wembley.

"It will be the first time for me to be at Wembley. It is not a friendly game, it is very important for us. We play against a great team. They were in the final of the Champions League last season.

"We have respect for this team but we want to win and play well. We want to put our quality on the pitch. It will be an interesting match.''

Source: ESPN Soccernet, 8 August, 2009