Keep your hands off Salomon Kalou, Chelsea warn Jose Mourinho

11 September 2009 21:01
Doubling his money? Salomon Kalou[LNB] Chelsea will open contract negotiations with Salomon Kalou in the next few days to keep him out of Jose Mourinho's clutches.[LNB] The Ivory Coast forward, whose deal expires next summer, currently earns around £30,000 a week, but Chelsea are prepared to pay him double that.[LNB] The international transfer ban imposed on the club has hastened matters and now, with Inter Milan expressing an interest, it has been decided to move on with talks.[LNB] Mourinho is interested in the 24-year-old he signed three years ago from Feyenoord for £3.5million and is prepared to offer a £50,000-a-week deal.[LNB] It is understood that the Inter coach wanted to offer a pre-contract agreement that would have secured Kalou to the San Siro as early as the new year.[LNB] Talks are expected to open next week with Kalou's representatives, who are hoping to tie up a contract of more than £3m a year for a player who has a one-in-three goalscoring ratio.[LNB] But by bringing forward discussions, it is clear that Chelsea have every intention of continuing their recent policy of tying their prized assets to long-term deals.[LNB] In recent months, Ashley Cole and John Terry, among others, have benefited from improved contracts. Kalou is now set to profit as the club guard against the possibility of losing their appeal against a worldwide transfer ban.[LNB] However, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti insists he has 'no doubts' he can lead Chelsea to glory this season despite FIFA's penalty.[LNB] Chelsea plan to appeal the decision to prevent them signing any players for the next two transfer windows after they were found guilty of inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract with French side RC Lens.[LNB]Claiming FIFA's hardline stance will have little effect on Chelsea's chances this season, Ancelotti said: 'I don't have any doubts. The transfer embargo is not a problem because we have a very good team and very good players, but in the future we'll have to wait and see. Now, it is not a problem. We'll see. I'm sure FIFA can change this decision.[LNB] 'It doesn't make my job more difficult. At the moment, my job is very simple: to train. In the team I have a very good mentality and attitude. For me, it's not difficult now.'[LNB] Ancelotti revealed he was unaware of the potential for FIFA sanctions before he took the job and admitted his 'surprise' at learning of the ban.[LNB] 'I saw it on the internet,' said the Chelsea manager. 'I was surprised, but life goes on. I didn't know the situation, but it finished there. Only surprise. Now I have to think about my job and about my players.[LNB] 'I haven't spoken to Roman Abramovich about it, but it's not necessary for me to do that. I don't have to speak to Roman about this.' Chelsea visit Stoke this afternoon before beginning their Champions League campaign at home to Porto on Tuesday.[LNB] Then fellow league pace-setters Tottenham come to Stamford Bridge and Ancelotti admitted his side are entering a crucial period of their campaign.[LNB] He said: 'Next week the Champions League starts. We start again in the Premier League and it's a very important period. But I think we're in a good situation to do very well.[LNB] 'Up to October, we have a lot of matches - important matches in the Premier League against Spurs and Liverpool and the Champions League as well. After this period, we'll know better how our season is going to pan out.' [LNB] [LNB]  Explore more:People:Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho, Roman Abramovich, John Terry, Ashley Cole

Source: Daily_Mail