Juventus official Gianluca Pessotto admits they're ready to move for Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.
The players arrive at Cobham this morning for their penultimate training session before facing West Ham on Saturday, and John Mikel Obi is determined to use that game as an opportunity to return to winning ways.
AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is under consideration for Avram Grant's job at Chelsea.
Sources close to Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard says he would consider a move to Chelsea at the end of this season.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich won't bomb Avram Grant out of the club should he decide he is not the man for the manager's job at the end of this season.
As players return to training today following Sunday's defeat, their captain has joined the calls to quickly put the Carling Cup defeat behind them while empathising with supporters' disappointment.
Ex manager of Chelsea Jose Mourinho has agreed to work with existing Barcelona coaching staff should he replace Frank Rijkaard at the end of the season.El Mundo Deportivo says during talks in Portugal, former Chelsea boss Mourinho spoke with Barcelona directors Txiki Begiristain and Marc Ingla about his backroom staff.
Joe Cole believes we must get over the Carling Cup defeat to Tottenham quickly in order to progress in other competitions.
Chelsea boss Avram Grant insists he has a much more difficult job than Tottenham coach Juande Ramos.
As he began to pick his way through the pieces of Chelsea's broken Carling Cup hopes, Avram Grant highlighted one Wembley moment that especially disappointed him on an afternoon to forget.
Chelsea have grown used to winning finals when we reach them, but not as used as we have been to beating Tottenham down the years. That makes getting over this defeat all the harder but Grant has promised to begin by looking in depth at the performance while remaining positive about the rest of the season ahead.
The Chelsea manager admitted our opponents had the chances to make the difference before they did, not least when Didier Zokora was denied by Petr Cech in the second half, but having rallied from a sticky opening, the manner with which our London rivals got back into the game was disappointment number one.
'We didn't start the game very well, but when we scored the goal, from then until the second half, when the goal was conceded, Tottenham didn't create any chances,' Grant said.
'Then came the decision of the penalty and Tottenham came back into the game. I think it was a rash decision. Not every time that you touch the ball with your hand is it a penalty. I think you can think it over.'
Grant paired the handball verdict against Wayne Bridge with the final decision of the game, the one to blow the final whistle just as Salomon Kalou was found by John Terry in front of goal.
'But we cannot take the time back, we lost a final and that is what it is important,' Grant continued.
With the game at 1-1 as extra-time began, it was Jonathan Woodgate's header from a free-kick that ended Chelsea's 52-game sequence of not losing having taken leads.
Spurs had been the most recent side to overturn a deficit against us, back in November 2006, but Grant refused to point a finger at any individual for a defensive lapse at the deciding moment.
'There are always personal mistakes in football but we win as a team and we lose as a team. We will look at it and see what we can take out of this game.
'It is the first game that Drogba and Anelka played together. I think it is going to be a good combination but it was not an easy game for them today. They did their best.
'I wanted to play Anelka out wide because he is a creative player but he can also come to be the striker at the right moment. It worked sometimes.'
Grant was also willing to defend Chelsea's long ball approach at times which was counter to his preferred style of play.
'It was in the last 15 minutes of the game. With many strikers we thought maybe we could create something this way. Sometimes the players feel we could be more dangerous this way but it is not our way of playing. When we are 2-1 down, I understand it.'
Keeping his chin up, Grant refused to accept his best chance of silverware in his first Chelsea season had passed.
'We are in all the other three competitions. It was not easy to come to this final because in most of the games we didn't have players and it is good for us to be in a final but it is not good to lose a final. But we will try to do our best in the other three competitions.'
With a larger pool of players available than at any time this season, Chelsea's line-up for this afternoon's Carling Cup Final has attracted plenty of speculation. Michael Ballack gives an insight into the thoughts of top players when team selection time comes.
The Africans are back and the injury list has cleared just in time for the Wembley showpiece. In the midfield alone, there are four extra players ready for selection compared with the game at Goodison Park last month that sent Chelsea into today's Final, Ballack included.
'It is exciting, we will see who is playing. I always expect that I will play but I think everybody thinks that,' he smiled, talking before Avram Grant revealed his decisions to the squad.
'The manager does not have to explain to everybody why they are not playing. I think every player has to know what the situation is and deal with the situation, even if you don't play.
'In your mind, you have had to deal with it before. Every player will react differently, some speak more, but everybody knows it can happen that you don't play, even if you are a good player.'
One year ago, Ballack was a Carling Cup Final hero for Chelsea, supplying the perfect through ball for Didier Drogba to equalise against Arsenal and playing the whole of the 2-1 win.
However his season ended prematurely through injury and he had to wait until a Carling Cup quarter-final against Liverpool in December to return.
'Eight months out is a long time and I want to show in the next week and months why Chelsea bought me.
'I never thought that I wouldn't be coming back but I have known players that take one-and-a-half to two years to return and this was in my mind. When you are three or four months out injured and you don't make steps forward, that is very frustrating.
'When I did come back, I was captain for a short period and that gave me a lot of confidence and a good feeling that I can be a big part of the team.'
While Ballack was awaiting to discover if he is one of today's chosen midfielders, Ricardo Carvalho was similarly hoping for a place in central defence.
If selected, he would love to repeat his 35-yard winner against Spurs last April at Stamford Bridge, although our Portuguese star isn't promising.
'It was a good shot and we won 1-0 from my shot,' Carvalho told Chelsea TV.
'I will try to do my best but first in my mind is not to concede goals, play well and give good balls to the players playing in front. We have great players in front of me in midfield and they can score from 35 yards.'
Chelsea are chasing Barcelona prospect Marc Muniesa.
