The most dynamic player at Chelsea has re-upped his deal at Stamford Bridge, signing a new 5 year deal with Chelsea and following in the footsteps of Peter Cech, who did the same just days ago.

New Head Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari showed his excitement with Michael Essien  putting pen to paper saying, “Michael Essien is one of the best midfield players in the world. I have always admired him and it is good for me and for Chelsea that he signs for so long.”

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After failing to establish him self after two seasons, Chelsea quietly ushered out Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz to Bundesliga side Stuttgart for half the price it paid for him, 4 Million Euro.

Boulahrouz’s hyped move to Chelsea in 2006 saw him being Jose Mourinho’s third option at centerback, along with John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, and a second option at either left back or right back.  Ultimately the 26 year old saw action in just 13 matches before being sent out on loan for the 2007/08 seaon to Sevilla, where he only played in 6 games for the La Liga side in the run up to the 2008 Euro’s.

Boulahrouz impressed throughout the Euro’s with Holland (26 Full Team Caps), despite the loss of he and his wife’s prematurely born daughter just before the Oranje’s match against the Russians.

Die Roten finished in 6th place for the 2007/08 Bundesliga campaign.

With the staples removed and fully rested after his 2008 Euro’s disappointment, Chelsea’s Michael Ballack made his way down the isle, marrying longtime partner and mother of his 3 children, German WAG Simone Lambe.

The 31 year old Ballack and 30 year old Lambe wed yesterday in the Knight’s hall of the Bavarian Palace Kempfenhausen.

image via DailyMail

I had been hearing little nuggets of rumors about this one the last few days, but now it sounds like it actually might be happening. According to Premiership Latest,  Chelsea have launched a bid to bring Fernando Torres to Stamford Bridge and are willing to apy £85million, or roughly $170 million! WTF! $140 million for Cristian, $170 million for Torres…are you serious? The services of one player can’t possibly be worth that. Just the fact that numberes like this are being tossed around blows my mind. I seriously question how the sport can sustain itself when money like thi sis being tossed around.

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We all knew that when Luiz Felipe Scolari took over at Chelsea there would be changes.

With all the hoopla surrounding the possible Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid transfer, Robinho’s agent Vagner Ribiero has publicly admitted to meeting with Chelsea’s Sporting Director Frank Arnesen in London about their desire to sign the player if possible.

Obviously the Brazilian isn’t happy about his name being thrown around in a possible switch to Manchester United if the Ronaldo deal does go down, but with a player like Joe Cole already succeeding with the Blues and Robinho falling into that style, then a Brazilian coaching the Brazilian would make sense at Stamford Bridge.

image via Img

In his first signing as new Chelsea boss, Luis Felipe Scolari has signed Portuguese midfielder Deco from Barcelona. With Pep Guardiola saying Deco wasn’t in his plans at Barcelona, Scolari wasted no time in snatching up the Brazilian born, Portuguese playmaker. I’ll be curious to see how Deco does in the EPL. What do you guys think? Will he succeed in England?

[Via Chelsea FC]

This is my favorite time of the 2008 Euros because this is when honesty is at a minimum.

According to Portugal’s Football Federation President Gilberto Maidal, Chelsea holds the torch for “distracting the team” and claiming the team’s Neuchatel hotel was a hot spot for clubs contacting staff and players.

“When we came to the European (Championship) I was already absolutely certain Luiz Felipe Scolari would leave. It’s a pity Chelsea did not take care to advise the FPF the timing of their announcement that they were contracting him.”

Yeah, I can see why the Portuguese big wigs would be pissed about the timing, but what about the circus that is Cristiano Ronaldo and his obvious desire to leave Manchester United after refusing to confirm his intentions from the moment he stepped off the field in Moscow?

Or his marking on the Klose goal or Moutinho shocking miss or Paulo Ferreira’s supposed marking on his Chelsea teammate Michael Ballack or Scolari’s decision to wait on Nani’s substitution introduction until 67th minute when the only success the Portuguese were having against the Germans were on the flanks?

Doubt the blame game is over yet..

image via Cache

UPDATE -  Aston Villa have agreed to a 5.5 Million Pound transfer with Chelsea FC for the services of Steve Sidwell.

Although Sidwell only made 7 starts in the 2007/08 campaign, O’Neill might have the midfielder in mind for a replacement for what looks like the eventual loss of Gareth Barry.

Anyone else remember David Beckham’s first match with the LA Galaxy?  If you ever question Sidwell’s desire or commitment, Sidwell was the first one to tackle him knowing full well that his ankle was still injured.  Not the smartest tackle at all, but you’ve got to like the fact the 25 year old has the balls to go out there and get stuck in.

According to the Daily Mail, Aston Villa and Martin O’Neill have agreed with Chelsea on a 5 Million Pound fee for former Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell.

After only spending one year at Stamford Bridge, it’s believed that 2.5 Million Pound is going directly to Sidwell as a payout for terminating his contract with the Blues after signing on a free transfer under Jose Mourinho and in hopes of keeping his wages as low as possible since there’s no possible way that Villa could afford the current structure of his Chelsea contract.

image via News1

It’s been a season to forget for Frank Lampard and not because of his play.

With the loss of his Mother to the Premiership and Champions League disappointment on top of losing his type of coach in Jose Mourinho, it’s easy to understand why a change of scenery might be on the cards for the English midfielder.

Now Inter owner Massimo Moratti has spoken publicly about the Italians contact with Chelsea over the services of Frank Lampard.

It has just been announced that Portugal boss has been confirmed as the new manager at Chelsea. This is definitely a big announcement for the blues, but should it have been done during the Euros? Seems to me that it is better to make the announcement after the tournament and not while you are still in charge of Portugal. I am curious as to what this will do for current players at Stamford Bridge and future targets. I’m sure there will be more to come on this one.