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Premier League – Paper round: Roma eye Ancelotti

Roma will reportedly offer Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti a route out of London with an offer for him to takeover at his old club in the summer.

Ancelotti spent seven seasons at Roma as a player and the club are now keen for him to replace another ex-Chelsea boss, Claudio Ranieri, at the helm at end of the season, according to the News of the World.

After a run of just one win in 11 games, Ancelotti has admitted that he is surprised still to be in charge at Stamford Bridge.

“I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had been sacked because this is football,” he said.

“In two or three weeks we have to be able to move on. We can’t stay in this moment until the end of the season.”

Roma are currently fourth in Serie A, seven points behind league leaders Milan.

Elsewhere in London, Avram Grant‘s reign at West Ham continues to be precarious, to say the least.

According to the News of the World, the club are chasing ex-Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill as they look to replace Grant.

The Sport Star Sunday have different ideas, however, saying that the basement-dwelling Hammers want Sam Allardyce as Grant’s replacement.

One thing the papers all agree on though is that Grant is set to leave the club imminently, as his already-fractured relationship with vice-chairman Karen Brady further deteriorates.

The Israeli former-Portsmouth boss was left furious after Brady vetoed the signing of Steve Sidwell, following an announcement by Grant that the deal was done.

Although, West Ham have been reluctant to get rid of Grant because of his settlement demands.

O’Neill has not worked since quitting Villa Park just before the beginning of the season, while Allardyce, recently sacked by Blackburn Rovers, has rejected the chance to take charge at Burnley.

Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas has ruled out a move to Barcelona until he has won trophies with the Gunners (News of the World).

Fabregas has long been linked to Barcelona but has vowed to stay at Arsenal until they end their five-year wait for silverware.

“Why would I want to leave?”, the Spaniard said after their 1-1 FA Cup draw with Leeds. “It’s fantastic here.

“It would be a dream to lift trophies for Arsenal. Afterwards you can be attracted by new challenges but my real challenge as captain of Arsenal is to bring this football club success.

“I want to end these five years without a trophy and hopefully, I can do it this season.”

Manchester City are bracing themselves for an Italian raid on duo Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli in the summer (News of the World).

Internazionale boss Massimo Moratti reportedly wants Tevez to lead his side’s revival, while city rivals Milan are eyeing the unsettled Balotelli.

Tevez has declared a truce with City despite handing in a transfer request before Christmas while Balotelli has made no secret of his desire to play at Milan.

Across Manchester, United are eyeing up a deal for Japanese star Shinji Kagawa (News of the World).

United are seeking a long-term replacement for Paul Scholes and the 21-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder is thought to fit the bill.

Kagawa has only been at Dortmund for six months but has already scored eight goals in 17 games and United are ready to offer £15 million for him.

Liverpool are also lining up £15m but their target is Belgian Romelu Lukaku, lazily being labelled as the new Didier Drogba (Sport Star Sunday).

The 17-year-old Anderlecht striker, the son of former Zaire international Roger Lukaku, is also being chased by Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal on this side of the Channel, while Inter, Juventus and Real Madrid are all also keeping tabs on him.

Eurosport

Written by Israel Saria

For the last 20 years I have been working as a football pundit. This experience has provided me with a very useful insight into football and the opportunity to carry out extensive research into the game including its players, the stadiums, the rules and tactics and I have also been grateful to meet a wide range of people connected to football in the UK, Tanzania, Germany .....

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