Chelsea transfer rumours June 6th – Torres, Joe Cole, Higuain, Toure and Andy Carrol

The Sunday papers are full of Joe Cole transfer news today. He is definitely the hottest player on the market at the moment, especially as he could be available on a free transfer. Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp said last week that Cole had agreed a deal with someone, but not Spurs, but the some papers still have them in the running.

The Mirror leads with an “exclusive” that Cole has agreed a four year deal with Arsenal worth £100,000 a week. They say that the Gunners have beaten Man City and Liverpool to a deal simply because Cole is not keen on leaving London.

But if you go to ESPN they “understand” that Cole will definitely NOT be going to Arsenal or Man Utd. They go on to suggest that Man City or Tottenham are still the front runners. Perhaps Harry Redknapp was telling porkies last week when he said that he was not bringing Cole to White Hart Lane?

Sky Sports has just added a quote from the Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins saying that Chelsea haven’t given up on persuading the England star to remain at Stamford Bridge. He said: “We’ve obviously been in dialogue with Joe for months now and it’s pretty evident that Carlo and myself would love Joe to stay but it’s down now to the club to see what we can do.

“We sincerely hope Joe stays with us – he’s a smashing guy and he’s a wonderful footballer so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

Cole himself is keeping his head on his shoulders, and is refusing to let the speculation interfere with his World Cup preparations. “The speculation won’t affect me.” he said. “I am concentrating on the World Cup and nothing else. What happens afterwards will happen.”

I for one seriously hope that Abramovich opens his wallet and persuades Joey to stay…..

Fernando Torres, as usual, is still being linked with a big-money move to either Chelsea or Man City. The Sunday Express is certain that Chelsea will win the bidding war, simply because they can offer the Spain star Champions League football. Let’s be honest, if Torres wants trophies he would be better off at Chelsea for now than at the new upstarts up North…….

A new name being linked with Chelsea is the young Newcastle striker Andy Carrol, who was the top scorer for the Toons as they regained their place in the Premier League. The England U21 international is certainly a promising lad (and English!), but is he likely to come and sit on the bench at Chelsea when he is scoring for fun at Newcastle? Besides, the Toon will want all their best players to stay as they try and avoid relegation again next season…….

The Real Madrid striker Gonzales Higuain has been strongly linked with the Blues lately, but it seems that he has just signed a new four year deal with the “Galacticos”. Some are suggesting that they have just given him a contract extension so that they can sell him at a higher price………..

And lastly, the Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure has been telling everyone that he is definitely going to be playing in the Premier League next season. His agent has constantly been saying that Chelsea is his preferred destination, so is it possible he will be moving to Stamford Bridge? The only thing that makes me think he won’t come is the fact that Chelsea need to reduce the average age of the squad, so bringing in the 27 year-old Toure won’t help very much……