Blues boss takes stock before deciding transfers

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS will run the rule over his new players before deciding who to keep, who to sell and who to buy, and says Chelsea’s transfer market spending is on hold.

The new Chelsea boss declared himself happy with the squad he is inheriting from Carlo Ancelotti but continues to be strongly linked with Porto striker Falcao, Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric and Benfica left-back Fabio Coentrao, as well as Brazilian striker Neymar.

“First, I want to value the players as they are,” he insisted. “We need to take all the information on board. It’s nothing new that, when a manager comes, radical changes are expected. Bearing in mind the success this club has had in the last six or seven years, we have to judge things carefully and make wise decisions. We have plenty of time to judge the market and approach it in a way that’s valuable for the team.”

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is renowned for buying players his managers do not ask for — like £30m (€33.4m) Andrey Shevchenko and £50m (€55.6m) Fernando Torres; but Villas-Boas, who says John Terry will remain as captain but wants other leaders to emerge, is unconcerned.

“There are no players being imposed on me. With the top quality you can get at this club, you can move for the best players in the world. That’s what we do if we have the necessity. The main thing first is to consider and value what we have.

“They are top players who have won three Premier League, three FA Cups, five semi-finals of the Champions League and one final. This is the kind of quality we have. We have to go one step further. I won’t speculate on names. All of them are interesting players: Modric, Falcao, Cointrea. Everyone in first, then decision-making. At the moment, we’re stopped in time.”