CARLO ANCELOTTI has delayed his arrival at Chelsea to try to push through the signing of Brazil star Alexandre Pato.

SunSport understands AC Milan expect to meet Blues officials in the next 24 hours to negotiate a deal.

Ancelotti officially started his new job as Chelsea boss yesterday but is understood to be in Milan while talks with his former club are ongoing.

Chelsea have already had an offer of £31million turned down for Pato, 19.

Ancelotti is desperate to have the striker in place before pre-season training starts next Monday.

Milan sources claim the club will sell for a figure nearer £40m - although Chelsea are unwilling to pay that much.

At the same time, Ancelotti is determined to add a cutting edge to his new team's play and has specifically asked for Pato.

Milan, meanwhile, are edging closer to signing Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who is expected to cost around £17m.

JOHN TERRY has been offered a record-busting £300,000-A-WEEK to join Manchester City.

The future of the Chelsea and England skipper is now on a knife-edge.

Terry, 28, has been blown away by City's offer, which is worth a mind-blowing £15.6million-a-year.

But it is a measure of how boss Mark Hughes views the centre-back as crucial to City's development.

Terry would become easily the world's highest-paid player. His salary would dwarf even that of the footballer closest to him - Cristiano Ronaldo, on £255,000-a- week at Real Madrid.

Hughes reckons Terry is the key to City bursting into the Premier League's top four and becoming one of Europe's leading clubs.

The Welshman is convinced he can get a good five years out of the centre-back, despite some of the injury problems he has suffered in the last couple of seasons, and has long had him on his radar.

City failed with a move for Terry last season and, though the latest £30m offer has been firmly rejected by Chelsea, SunSport understands the pursuit is far from over.

In fact, the Londoners are bracing themselves for another bid in the region of £40m.

Sources close to Terry say the player is beginning to wonder whether Chelsea really want him as much as they claim and admit he has been impressed by the faith Hughes has in him.

SunSport can reveal Terry has had no contact with incoming manager Carlo Ancelotti since the Italian got the job and is worried that his influence at Stamford Bridge could be on the wane.

Terry has become more than just the skipper at Chelsea. He was almost on the board and was the link-man between the players and the hierarchy.

Ancelotti may have different ideas about how the club should operate. Yet with Hughes, Terry knows he will be the main man whichever stars arrive.

Terry currently earns around £150,000-a-week with the Blues, so would be doubling his wages.

City are also prepared to pay Samuel Eto'o £250,000-a-week to secure his services from Barcelona.

Clearly money is no object to City's Arab owners.

Chelsea suspect Terry has been tapped up and City sources admit the club would not have made a bid without doing its homework.

In other words, they have already found out whether he would be interested in the move before making their official approach.

SunSport was told: "This one could run for a while. John is really interested in what City have to say. It is not impossible he could leave."

REAL MADRID are on the verge of bidding for Ashley Cole after he rejected a new Chelsea deal.

The England star, 28, has turned down the offer which would leave him £30,000-a-week short of the club's top earners.

Cole, signed from Arsenal three years ago, wants to commit to the Blues but the contract has to be right.

A source said: "Ashley loves Chelsea and is genuinely excited about working with new boss Carlo Ancelotti.

"He wants to give the best years of his career to the club but the deal has to be right for such an important contract.

"He needs to feel as valued as any of the club's other top players."

Cole, currently on £70,000 a week, also interests European champions Barcelona.

But it is big-spending Madrid who have stepped up their interest in the left-back, who has won 71 England caps.

Madrid president Florentine Perez is aware the club's defence needs strengthening and new boss Manuel Pellegrini is a long-term admirer of Cole.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A U.S. club coach took one look at Frank Nouble and said, "If he grew up in the States, he'd be a football prospect or basketball player. We just don't get guys like him playing soccer."

Nouble, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound 17-year-old, is a man-child on the soccer field and is being touted as the next rising star in the Chelsea (England) youth program.

Nouble scored four goals in four matches last week at the Disney Soccer Showcase, at which the English side won the Under-17 Showcase Blue title. Nouble's combination of skill, strength and speed (he runs a 10.9 second 100-meter dash) make him a difficult mark -- both in the U.S. and at home in England.

Before arriving in Florida, Nouble -- of Ivory Coast ancestry -- had 12 goals in his previous 14 English youth-academy matches. He's best known for scoring the goal at Old Trafford that bumped Manchester United from the FA Youth Cup.

"He has the chance to have a career in professional soccer," Chelsea under-17 coach Paul Clement said, downplaying the youth's star status. "He's moving in the right direction. He's been with the club five years and he's doing the things necessary to move up."

Nouble is seeing time with the Chelsea reserve squad, which is not unusual for a 17-year-old of his skill level, but he actually made his first reserve appearance at age 15. Chelsea officials in Florida confirmed that Nouble has signed a professional contract, has left school and is training full-time with the club.

"It's going well -- it's been a good year in terms of scoring goals," Nouble said. "The coaching staff say I have the talent and attitude for [Premier League] football."

Throughout the Disney Soccer Showcase, Nouble dazzled opponents and spectators with his versatility. His first goal was a blast from distance that beat the keeper in the upper left corner of the goal. In the final, Chelsea's 5-0 victory over Javanon, he used his speed to get behind the defense to gather a ball played long and wide, then quickly charged straight at the goal before putting a well-placed shot past the keeper. Later in the final, he drew defenders to himself before laying off a pass to a teammate that resulted in a goal.

"He's worked hard at his game," Clement said. "And he can finish with his right or left foot."

Although Nouble towers over his peers, such was not always the case.

Early in his Chelsea days, he was 5-8, 160 pounds.

"I was a little juke-y player," he said, recalling the days when he relied on quickness and skill.

Nouble went through a growth spurt two years ago and sprung up to 6-3.

"I struggled in terms of adjusting to my height," he said. "But the coaches saw I had potential."

That potential has landed the youngster in enviable positions. He once suited up in a Chelsea scrimmage match alongside German international star Michael Ballack.

"He was No. 8 and I was No. 9," Nouble said. "It was like a dream come true."

Considering Nouble's rapid rise in the Chelsea system, perhaps he also will be an international soccer star.

John Terry wants talks with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich about his future.

The Times says Manchester City believe that a £35 million deal could be reached before the squad fly to South Africa for their pre-season tour on Wednesday.

Terry, the Chelsea captain, has concerns about the club being unable to attract a top player this summer, after several failed attempts, and is seeking a pay rise of about £20,000 a week, to increase his wage to about £150,000 a week — short of what he could earn at City.

Chelsea want the dispute resolved as soon as possible to avoid it becoming an unsavoury backdrop to their pre-season tour. They travel to the United States on Thursday and play the Seattle Sounders in the first of their friendly matches a week today.

When the news broke that Robin van Persie had signed a new contract, an Arsenal fan sent an email which ended with "the title's coming back home".

(Which will be a surprise to the title when it turns up at Highbury to find blocks of empty apartments).

A Kopite sent this text after Steven Gerrard penned a fresh deal: "Torres, Kuyt, Agger, Yossi now Stevie. Who needs new signings? It's our year."

And if Cristiano Ronaldo had agreed new terms at Old Trafford a banner may have gone up in my front garden saying: "19 times - it's in the bag."

Of course big players agreeing to stay with your club is good news.

But analyse the fans' euphoria a little deeper and you'll realise we've become dribbling inmates in the world's biggest loony bin.

All those above players were tied to lucrative contracts with years left to run.

So all that has happened is the club has got down on both knees and said to them "we don't need to do this, and by doing so we've got less money to spend on new players, but will you take a lot more of our money please, and agree to take it for even longer than you legally signed for?"

And you believe THAT is a reason to pop the Tesco Cava (it would be champagne but you've just taken out a crippling loan to buy the season ticket which pays those improved wages and £4.99 was all you had left).

Which brings me to Chelsea fans, who are currently panicking over John Terry.

Will he go to Manchester City if the club don't show enough "loyalty" by giving him a new contract worth £155,000 a week?

And if City come back in with a £35million offer, and they take it, what will outsiders think when Chelsea are unable to hold on to their backbone and talisman?

Well, taking a wild stab, I guess they'll think "Good on you." Terry is reportedly miffed that Roman Abramovich wasn't there in person to give him a rubdown with his cheque book when he turned up for training on Thursday.

With a bit of luck, the Russian was at home dictating the following letter to his "confused" captain: "Your Opta stats for the past three seasons say we've won 64 per cent of our games with you, but 68 per cent without you, and taken more points per game (2.32 compared to 2.16) when you weren't on the pitch.

Plus we've only lost one of the 28 games you've missed.

"Over that same period you've averaged 28 Premier League games and one Premier League goal per season. You're getting booked more and starting to look like an oil tanker doing a threepoint turn in Vladivostok harbour when you're up against pace.

"I'm wondering how much of our excellent defensive record is down to Petr Cech behind you, Michael Essien in front of you and the other three defenders alongside you?

"You're 29 this year. Your back's gone. You cost £6.5m in wages. And you're a centrehalf. I'll tell you what. I'll make Frankie captain, let Alex take your place, tell Carvalho he's staying, push Mancienne through the ranks and bite City's hands off for £35m. Go and live your dream with the Eastlands Arabs, my son."

Which would be one small step for Man City, but one giant leap for mankind.

You're 29 this year. Your back's gone and you cost £6.5m in wages... and you're a centre-half. Go and live your dream with the Eastland Arabs

John Terry will have to submit a written transfer request to get a move to Manchester City.

The 28-year-old skipper met Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich yesterday for crunch talks at the club's training headquarters in Cobham.

City are preparing a third offer, valuing Terry at a staggering £50 million. Terry met Abramovich to request permission to speak to the Eastlands club.

But Abramovich cut the talks short by telling Terry he would not allow him to speak to City and intended to hold him to the remaining three years of his deal.

Terry left the meeting claiming nothing has been resolved, but in the knowledge that onlybyformally requesting a move can he end his 14-year tenure at the club. Chelsea have rejected two huge bids for Terry from City and maintained that their skipper is not for sale - at any price.

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It has been claimed that Chelsea would offer Terry a huge pay rise to persuade him to stay and reject City's overtures.

Abramovich (right) made no such offer in yesterday's meeting. But there is no doubt that talk of a five-year contract and wages approaching £ 250,00 a week have undoubtedly turned Terry's head.

That deal would make him the highest paid Premier League player.

Terry has also confided in close friends that several other Chelsea issues have led him to question his future at the club.

The Newcastle centre-back could be set for a swift return to the top flight with the Blues reportedly interested ...

Chelsea are reportedly considering a move for Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor should skipper John Terry decide to depart for Manchester City.

The future of the Blues captain is currently somewhat uncertain with the Citizens seemingly intent on capturing their man, despite Chelsea insisting he is not for sale at any price.

All of which has reportedly led Terry to demand a ‘summit meeting’ with his club which could go a long way to deciding whether he remains at Stamford Bridge.

Should he opt to leave, then Chelsea may decide to move for Newcastle’s Taylor with the Sunday Express claiming that the west Londoners may make a £10 million bid for the centre back.

The report suggests that despite being relegated with the Magpies last season, Chelsea view the 23-year-old as a great prospect in the same mould as the England captain.

Despite beginning his career at Newcastle and making his debut for the club whilst just a teenager, Taylor was born in London and could be tempted by a move back to the capital.

Glen Johnson has revealed the breakdown of trust that wrecked his career with Jose Mourinho and Chelsea.

In a sensational blast at the Inter Milan coach the 24-year-old England defender has accused Mourinho of breaking promises when he played under the self-proclaimed 'Special One' at Stamford Bridge.

Johnson rebuilt his career at Portsmouth after being sold to the south coast club by Mourinho for £4million.

And despite making a return to the big four with a £17m switch to Anfield - and becoming England's regular right-back - Johnson has not forgotten or forgiven Mourinho for the way he was treated during his time with Chelsea.

Johnson said: "I got the feeling that I was finished at Chelsea the day Mourinho signed another right-back, Paulo Ferreira.

"Mourinho told me that wasn't the case. I remember the lowest point was when Chelsea were set to play Barcelona in the Champions League.

"We had a couple of Premier League games to play before we played Barca, and Mourinho picked me for one of those games and told me in front of five witnesses that if I played well I would keep the shirt.

"I immediately told my agent that it didn't matter how well I played I would be dropped - because Mourinho wouldn't want me anywhere near the team for the Barcelona game.

"Sure enough, I was voted man of the match - and I was dropped from the squad.

"You would have to ask Jose Mourinho what his reasons were, but I know it was because he didn't want to see me play well again and be forced to pick me for the Barcelona game.

"That was the day I knew I had to leave Chelsea.

"Managers have to stick to their word. You have to be able to trust them.

"It was obvious Mourinho didn't believe in me.

"He didn't think that I was capable of showing the kind of form that I did to break into the England team. That was his choice.

"Obviously, people, even Jose Mourinho, do make mistakes.

the at uk "It gives me a lift when I wonder what Mourinho thinks about what's happened to me since I left Chelsea.

"He probably thought I would go to Portsmouth, fade away, disappear and not do anything in the game - and probably 70 per cent of football fans thought the same.

Now I might get the chance to show Mourinho just what he missed out on if Liverpool get to face Inter Milan in the Champions League. I would love that."

Ironically, Johnson believes his bitter experiences under Mourinho have helped mould him into the player he now is.

Fabio Capello recognises him as the best right-back in the country, and Rafa Benitez was willing to spend the bulk of his summer transfer budget taking the West Ham academy graduate to Merseyside.

Johnson said: "I remember speaking to my mates and telling them that while I was being paid to play football, playing football was the thing I was doing least in my life.

"I was going into training knowing that I wasn't going to be in the team regardless of how well I did.

"Even when I got the odd chance in the first team I knew that even if I scored four goals and got man of the match I would be out for the next game.

"How can a player maintain his desire in circumstances like that - knowing that I would be dropped from the team even if I scored six? "That sort of thing kills you as a professional footballer and I suppose I became a bit of a time bomb.

"A lot of players would have had an outburst and said something they would regret.

"I just bit my lip and got my head down.

"Eventually I learned to deal with the disappointment and I suppose it turned me into the man I am now."

i will jump ship also la

but i don't mind if he do, we just need to get a good replacement

Defender Terry's future at Stamford Bridge is on a knife-edge after megabucks Manchester City made a £30million bid for the Blues skipper.

But, yesterday, Terry proudly posed with team-mate Michael Ballack to launch the Blues' new three-year sponsorship deal.

Chelsea jet out for their US tour today and everyone will be waiting to see if JT gets on the plane.

Terry still refuses to comment yet Ballack is convinced City's bid is doomed.

The German said: "I spoke with him. I don't want to talk too much about our conversation but I have the feeling he will play for Chelsea next year. I think he will stay."

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon repeated the club's stance, saying: "John Terry is not for sale - at any price.

"I don't want know what they are offering. But I'm confident John is going to remain with us.

"John is a talisman. He's the heart of Chelsea. He came through our academy, he's our captain, he's also become captain of England.

"And we're confident John will be remaining as captain of Chelsea."