Frank Rijkaard next on the list as AC Milan talk with Carlo Ancelotti

Chelsea are approaching D-Day in their effort to make Carlo Ancelotti their next coach. The AC Milan coach will hold discussions over his future with Silvio Berlusconi, the Milan president, on Sunday, with Chelsea preparing to turn to Frank Rijkaard as a fall-back option.

Ancelotti is known to be flattered by Chelsea’s interest, with Roman Abramovich having made clear that he is No 1 choice to take over when Guus Hiddink, the interim manager, departs at the end of the season.

But, with nobody certain if Ancelotti will leave Milan, the Chelsea owner has been forced to draw up a list of alternative targets, including Rijkaard, the former Barcelona coach who has received a glowing endorsement from Hiddink.

The difficulty for Chelsea has been in ascertaining the extent of the damage to Ancelotti’s relationship with Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, who this week seemed to blame the coach for Milan’s failure to beat Inter Milan to the Serie A title. On occasions in recent weeks, Ancelotti has appeared in danger of losing his job, but Berlusconi tried to distance himself yesterday from that earlier interview and is expected to endeavour on Sunday to persuade the coach to reject Chelsea’s interest.
Related Links

Adriano Galliani, the Milan general manager, was insistent that Ancelotti will remain at the San Siro for at least another 12 months. “Carlo has a contract with us until 2010 and he will be on the bench of the Rossoneri next season,” Galliani said. “I spoke earlier to president Berlusconi and he was absolutely astonished to read what had been written.”

Ancelotti has already been made aware of the financial terms he would be offered at Stamford Bridge, but, if Sunday’s meeting ends with Ancelotti declaring his wish to join Chelsea, Milan are certain to try to play hardball by demanding at least €5 million in compensation.

Yuri Zhirkov, the Russia winger, is firmly expected to move to Chelsea in a deal that might be facilitated by Abramovich’s links with his club, CSKA Moscow, while strong rumours persist of an offer to Arsenal to sign Emmanuel Adebayor. Deco, the Portugal midfield player, may be offered a move to Corinthians.