The Chelsea Daily Drivel - All the news and more daily!!!

The Chelsea Daily Drivel is a daily update of all the stories concerning our club, the rumours, the opinions and more....

So here are the Chelsea news updates on Wednesday 11th August 2010 including: Stoke tell Chelsea Begovic not for sale!, Wigan holding out for Di Santo?, Drogba puts to bed any chance of leaving the club, Mick McCarthy once more on Mancienne, Chris Waddle gives his view on Chelsea but questions Sturridge and Zhirkov still struggling with injury.

First to news reported in the Drivel the other day that Chelsea were looking to Asmir Begovic as cover for Petr Cech after Hilario and Turnbull have been less than impressive this pre season. However, Stoke boss Tony Pullis had confirmed Chelsea have asked about his man but rebuffed the approach. He said:

"They have enquired, but they have been told he is not for sale. We are trying to bring players in, not let our better players go."

If reports are to be believed an offer in the region of £5m plus could be enough to tempt Pullis if Chelsea decide to continue their interest after being told no!. I think we all agree that the sooner we bring someone else in as cover the better!

Now to Franco Di Santo. It seems the press are reporting that Chelsea have stated that the are open to offers for our Argentinian forward who has failed to make any impact on the first team squad. Once again, if reports are to be belived it seems that Chelsea are pushing for someone to come in and sign Di Santo on a permanent deal but Wigan are hoping they can get him on a loan deal for the new season.

This isn't the first time this summer that I have reported about Di Santo and the speculation regarding his future, with plenty of interested parties willing to make themselves known. Its whether or not these clubs would want to make a permanent move or like Wigan, rely on a loan deal agreement with Chelsea. More on this one to follow.

Moving on and a Summer break simply wouldn't be the same for us blues fans unless we hear some sort of statement from Didier Drogba about his future. You will agree that we have heard more times than we would like about how he sees himself away from Chelsea, reportedly never been happy etc etc. So when Manchester City had been reported at looking at him as their next target for their spending spree some of you had been probably fearing the worst.

However, it seems that for once before the season starts Drogba is happy and content to stay at Chelsea. He said of the reported interest from City:

"Every summer there is speculation, you saw me in a Chelsea shirt [on Sunday] and I think that is how you will see me all season!".

Thank god for that!

Now to more from Mick McCarthy about Michael Mancienne. He spoke out to reporters after one of them had asked him about a possible £4m move for our youngster. He said:

"I would like to see my quote where I said I would be prepared to pay £4 million. I am pretty good at remembering what I said but I am red hot at remembering what I haven't. We won't be buying Mancienne. They want to sell him. If they want to loan Michael out again, then that's a different matter altogether.

I haven't discussed it with Chelsea. From my understanding, they want to sell him and he's asked for a transfer. They want to sell him rather than loan him. I would be interested if they want to loan him out again but that's up to them."

So there you have it. Chelsea are also looking to sell Mancienne aswell as Di Santo. The problem is apparently the club's valuation is reported as being nearer to £6m for Mancienne and this is what is putting possible interested parties off!. More on Mancienne and his future to follow here as its almost certain he will be leaving Chelsea in one way or another.

Now to Chris Waddle. Now i am not sure if its just me but I call to question the views of ex-pro's who like to have their say about the game as it is at the moment. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good pundits on TV such as Andy Gray, Jaime Redknapp (apart from when we beat Liverpool at Anfield last season) Alan Hansen and Gary Lineker and the only one half decent on ITV and that's Jim Beglin.

Waddle however has taken me by surprise. Half the time I have to switch him off as his views are as bad as that other one Stan Collymore, but he has tipped Chelsea to win the league again this season!. The only down side to this is that he has called to question Danny Sturridge's temperament. He said:

"Their success this season will depend on keeping their big players fit Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and John Terry.

Yossi Benayoun and the Brazilian Ramires should give Chelsea some fresh energy and vision. I expect Salomon Kalou to step up and Daniel Sturridge could play a bigger role, though I'm sceptical whether he can keep his feet on the floor. Chelsea are loaded with experience and for that reason alone they are my favourites to win the title again."

I see no reason personally as to why Sturridge wouldn't keep his feet on the floor at Chelsea. He knows that he would be behind, Drogba, Anelka and Klou in the pecking order but when he is given his chance he will be looking to do well just as he did on Sunday when he came on in the Community Shield and also when he featured in games in all competitions last season.

Finally today to Yuri Zhirkov. Zhirkov signed for Chelsea last summer and because of injury he had to miss aspects of the beginning of last season and as a result never featured in a Chelsea shirt until late December. When Ashley Cole was injured Zhirkov became heavily involved in the starting eleven and was beginning to find his feet in the team and the Premier League. He was an important part in our double success.

However, he has revealed that he is still suffering with his knees and further surgery could be required to get them sorted out once and for all. He said:

I had to miss a major part of the pre-season preparations, After my summer holidays, I still had sharp pain in my knees and had to visit Moscow for consultations, and also to consult with a doctor from Germany in London.

The medical procedures and exercises helped me feel much better than last year, but the pain still bothers me after matches and trainings. In general, though, my health is much better than last year.

I've decided that one month should be enough for me to return to my peak form. If I don't manage to get rid of my problems, it will be necessary to do something about it. I'm looking optimistically at my future and I'm sure that I will shake off my injury, although I don't know when it will happen."

Let's hope that Zhirkov can shake off the problems he has as he became an important member of the side last season and with Joe Cole leaving us we have a lack of options on the left of midfield.

KTBFFH!