Source: Team_Talk
Blues wrap up Ramires deal
Chelsea have completed the signing of Brazil midfielder Ramires from Benfica for a fee in the region of £17million.[LNB] The 23-year-old has joined on a four-year contract having received a work permit yesterday and passed a medical in London this afternoon.[LNB]Former Cruzeiro player Ramires will miss tomorrow's opening Premier League game against West Brom and instead join up with his new colleagues next week.[LNB]"Every player in the world would love to play for Chelsea and it's a great opportunity that was given to me, I will give my best to repay this chance, and I am very happy," he told Chelsea's website.[LNB]Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti said: "He is a fantastic player, a fantastic midfielder, he is very young and will be the future of the Brazilian national team, and I hope he will be the future of Chelsea."[LNB]Chelsea's decision to replace Guus Hiddink with Ancelotti last summer proved to be a wise one as the Italian completed a league and cup double in his first year at the helm.[LNB]The former AC Milan manager has seen Joe Cole, Deco, Juliano Belletti and Ricardo Carvalho leave the club this summer, with £6million midfielder Yossi Benayoun and Ramires the only two arrivals so far.[LNB]To make matters worse, the Blues have endured a poor pre-season, losing four matches on the bounce including a 3-1 defeat at the hands of main rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield last week.[LNB]Nevertheless, Ancelotti is determined to build on last year's success - although he does admit that winning the title will be tougher than last time around.[LNB]"We are ready to defend the title. We have fantastic motivation to win again," the 51-year-old continued.[LNB]"I said last year when we won the Premier League and the FA Cup that we had the possibility to open a cycle and we want to do it. The other teams will work harder to beat us but we are ready to fight and we are ready, if possible, to improve our quality, personality and courage.[LNB]"The other teams are improving very quickly. Last week's match against Manchester showed that. They played well, better than last year and this means that they are doing better and for this reason we have to have a step up if we want to win."[LNB]Chelsea's reported pursuit of Santos striker Neymar took an unexpected twist last night when the Brazilian club's president accused Chelsea of "harassment" over their attempted signing of the 18-year-old.[LNB]Chelsea officials said today that they were aware of the claims made by Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro but were unwilling to comment on the matter.[LNB]Ancelotti said he was unaware of the Brazilian club's complaint.[LNB]"I don't know anything about this," said Ancelotti.[LNB]"What I can say about Neymar is that he is a fantastic player but he is not a Chelsea player now and it's difficult for me to speak about this."[LNB]He added: "We are interested in all the best young players that come through in all the world and Neymar is one of these, but that doesn't mean that we will sign him."[LNB]Even with the signing of Ramires, their net spend of £23million is a drop in the ocean compared to that of title rivals Manchester City, who look set to take their summer spending past the £100million barrier with the transfers of striker Mario Balotelli, whose move from Inter Milan was confirmed this afternoon, and Aston Villa midfielder James Milner.[LNB]Ancelotti has defended his decision not to spend big this summer, insisting that youngsters like Daniel Sturridge, Jeffrey Bruma and Patrick van Aanholt will be able to step up to the plate this year.[LNB]"Our aim was to want to refresh the squad with young players and we have done this," said Ancelotti.[LNB]"I think that we have a very good squad and we have a new player in Benayoun who has good tactical quality."[LNB]
