Chelsea won't break the bank to sign Ribery or Pato, insists chairman Buck

08 July 2009 09:05
Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck insists they will not break the bank to bag a 'marquee signing' this summer. The Blues are still chasing France star Franck Ribery, athough Bayern Munich are demanding £70million to sell up. Chelsea have also considered a move for AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato as new boss Carlo Ancelotti prepares for his first season in English football. Yet, Buck has warned that they will not pay over the odds - a far cry from Chelsea's initial monster spending under owner Roman Abramovich. 'We said before the start of the transfer season that we expected four or five players in and a couple out, and that is still our expectation,' said Buck. 'We announced Yuri Zhirkov, and you know about Ross Turnbull and Daniel Sturridge. We are looking for a marquee name but as you know, as you read about it in the papers, most of the big clubs are chasing the same players. 'We are only going to get one of those top-notch players and there aren't very many of them. And we are only going to get one of those top-notch players if the price is right and he fits into our team appropriately. But we are looking and we are optimistic.' Asked whether Chelsea were close to landing a star name, Buck added: 'Well obviously not close enough, because we haven't signed them. 'But I don't think you can really say about how close we have come. We are chasing a few and we think they fit in very well with our team, we think we know the right price for these players and there is still a lot of time left in the transfer window, so let's see how it sorts out.'

Source: Daily_Mail