Power play over new F1 rules

A major revolution in Formula 1 engine and car design scheduled for the 2013 season is under threat.

The plan is to replace the current 2.4-litre V8 engines with 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbos fitted with extensive environmental technology and for the cars to be made more efficient.

The idea is to help popularise sustainable technologies, which are already being used in road cars, and therefore to insulate F1 from any accusations that it is profligate with resources. As a result, it is hoped F1 will become more attractive to other car companies.

Except that the changes, which we have discussed extensively on this blog over the last year or so, might not happen - at least not in two years' time.

They are already formally part of the regulations for 2013. But F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone has recently given voice to a view within the sport that the changes should either be postponed or abandoned. And he has a powerful ally in the shape of Ferrari.

Publicly, Ecclestone's objections to the new engine focus on three fundamental areas:

    * Spectacle - he believes the new engines will sound flatter, quieter and less dramatic than the current ones, reducing an important part of the sport's appeal

    * Money - he is worried the sport cannot afford the cost of developing the engines, which will be between 40-100 million Euros (£36-89m) depending on which estimate you believe.

    * Ferrari - the Italian legend runs F1's most famous and therefore most important team and its views need to be taken seriously. It is opposed to the new engine formula because it feels it has no synergy with its road cars and because it feels there are cheaper and more effective ways of making F1 more fuel-efficient.

Ferrari is as aware of the need to market energy-efficient technologies as anyone. It is embracing environmental technology on its road cars - it has, for example, released a version of its California GT car with a version of the stop-start systems that are becoming increasingly common in road cars, and it has developed a hybrid version of its monster 599 supercar.

It has objected specifically to the size of the engine - why restrict it to four cylinders, president Luca di Montezemolo has asked, branding the current rule "pathetic"?



Will Ferrari's opposition mean the 2013 engine changes go up in smoke? Photo: Getty

Ferrari is also pushing to ensure the 2013 chassis rules reflect its belief that the importance of aerodynamics is out of all proportion in F1. It wants them to be reined in so other aspects such as the mechanical and suspension set-up have more relevance, as is the case with road cars

But it is not just Ecclestone and Ferrari. Although the teams approved these rules, which they worked on with Jean Todt, president of governing body the FIA, other team principals have reservations, too.

One told me the arguments put forward for introducing the new engines do not stand up, in his view.

One of those arguments was that F1's use of increasingly outmoded engine technology was a barrier not only to attracting new sponsors of the kind that want to be associated with sustainability, but also to new car manufacturers entering the sport.

The engine change was proposed after German giant Volkswagen Audi indicated that it could be interested in F1 if the engine formula mirrored the future direction of road cars.

Doubters point out that not only have no new sponsors obviously been attracted, but that VW has since decided not to enter F1 for the foreseeable future.

As a result, the critics say, all the new rules will do is increase the cost for the existing participants. That is a major concern at a time when, according to one team boss, "there are a few teams on the breadline".

Equally, it seems that, among the current engine manufacturers, not only Ferrari is getting cold feet.

Mercedes would prefer not to change the rules; it is concerned about the expense and questions whether it is necessary, although I understand it has told fellow stakeholders it will go along with what everyone else agrees. Independent Cosworth is said to be not that keen either, although it told BBC Sport it was "neutral" and dismissed suggestions that it could not afford to build the engines. Only Renault will publicly say it is in favour.

The environmental argument is getting a bit of kicking, too.

The emissions created by an entire season of F1 races are less than those produced by one Boeing 747 flying to Japan. Road car manufacturers are already developing these engines. So why, some say, is F1 bothering? F1, the argument goes, should be about escapism, and the sport should be focusing on delivering more races like the recent thrilling Chinese Grand Prix.

So why not abandon or postpone the plan? Well, it is not as simple as that.

Renault's backing is rooted in marketing - it does not, unlike Mercedes and Ferrari, run its own F1 team and, unlike Cosworth, racing engines are not its core business.

Renault's F1 managing director Jean-Francois Caubet says the fact the sport is changing to a new more sustainable engine formula is one of three reasons for staying involved.

"The proposed rules are road-relevant and completely in line with Renault's road car strategy," he says. "We have already started design concepts on the 2013 engine, as this dovetails with our plans in road cars."

The French company plans for such engines - let's call them small capacity turbo-hybrid - to make up at least 70% of its road-car portfolio by 2015. It accepts the new F1 rules will cost money, but believes that is a price worth paying.

Caubet says Renault's presence in F1 is not "dependent on any future engine regulations", but does add the company is "very supportive of any regulations that make F1 more relevant to the overall aims of the Renault group".

Equally, proponents of the new engines point out that it is unfair to say no new manufacturers or sponsors have come in as a result of the new rules.

The change is still two years away, so how is it possible to know whether new sponsors will be attracted?

And just because no new car manufacturers have entered yet does not mean they will not. VW got cold feet, it is believed, because F1 took so long to agree the rules. Either way, the only sure thing is that new companies will not enter F1 if the engine rules stay the same.

As for Ecclestone, cynics in F1 - and there are many - believe his objections are at least as much about a couple of other issues he has not mentioned publicly.

One is that he and Todt simply do not get along. As someone who knows Ecclestone well said: "He's against it because Todt is for it."

There is also the fact that the sport's stakeholders are embarking on what will be tough and protracted negotiations aimed at extending the Concorde Agreement, the document that binds together the teams, the FIA and the commercial rights holders.

Ecclestone - representing the commercial rights holders, CVC - knows that both the teams and the FIA are unhappy with their financial arrangements and are asking for an improvement.

The teams are a potentially major headache for him. Currently, they get 47% of F1's revenues divided between them - and they are angling for as much as 80%. The teams are united under the umbrella group Fota, and have resisted all attempts to break them up over the last few years. Some believe Ecclestone sees the argument over engines as a chance to annex Ferrari and split Fota.

Of Ecclestone's public concerns, the least plausible is over the sound of the engines.

F1 used 1.5-litre turbo engines - and a formula restricting fuel usage, which is also part of the new rules - in the mid-1980s. Far from driving fans away, this is looked back on as one of the most exciting eras in the sport's history.

Insiders point out that only a handful of die-hard aficionados care about the sound of the engines - and that these people will watch anyway. The wider TV audience - which is of far more critical importance to the financial health of the sport - would probably not even notice the difference.

Equally, even if the sound of the engines is a concern, this can be addressed at least to some degree by tuning the exhaust.

As for affordability, the argument that the smaller teams will not be able to afford the new engines is easy to resolve - the manufacturers simply have to agree not to pass on the cost of development, and to keep the sale price of the engines the same as it is now.

In such situations, F1 usually finds a compromise - although that would mean Todt being seen to publicly back down, which is far from an easy sell when this is the first big change in F1 rules under his presidency.

But what would the compromise be?

An influential figure has recently proposed that the new rules could be postponed for a year until 2014. This would coincide with the fact that Pirelli's contract as tyre supplier runs out at the end of 2013 and allow the planned change of wheel-rim diameter from 13 to 15 inches to coincide with the new chassis rules, on which the wheel change has a significant impact.

Perhaps the current engines could be retained but with their Kers systems increased in power, and used to promote efficiency - such as running the cars purely on electric power in the pit lane. Perhaps a fuel restriction - part of the new rules anyway - could be introduced but not the new engines. Or a combination of some or all of the above.

The problem is that while all these arguments are going on, 2013 is getting ever closer, and engines have a long lead time. Manufacturers have already started work on the new designs, because that's what the rules say will be required.

Insiders say that, realistically, any decision will have to be made by the end of the summer. Any longer than that, and any objections will be academic - enough money will have been spent on the new engines that they might as well be adopted.

So if Ecclestone and Ferrari are going to spike the 2013 engine rules, they are going to have to get on with it.

Jorge Lorenzo snatches pole in Estoril qualifying

Jorge Lorenzo clinched his first pole of the season after a late crash dashed Marco Simoncelli's hopes in qualifying for Sunday's Estoril MotoGP.

Spanish reigning champion Lorenzo, who is seeking his fourth successive win at the track, recorded a time of 1:37.161.

Simoncelli will start second on the grid, with Honda's Dani Pedrosa filling the last spot on the front row.

Lorenzo heads the rider's standings by nine points following his recent success in his home race in Jerez.

Despite damp conditions during practice on Friday, qualifying took place on a dry track on Saturday, although temperatures were cooler and the threat of rain ever present.

Lorenzo left it until two minutes before the end of the hour-long session before setting the fastest time - after Simoncelli had been fastest for most of the session.

The Italian, who led by more than 0.7 seconds going into the closing stages, was demoted with five minutes to go and then slid off and was denied the chance to respond.

Pedrosa completes the front row, with his team-mate Casey Stoner and Lorenzo's team-mate Ben Spies on the second row, along with Andrea Dovizioso on the third Repsol Honda.

That position had been held by rookie Cal Crutchlow with a minute to go, but the Englishman then lost out to not only Dovizioso but also his own Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards.

Ducati's Valentino Rossi finished a disappointing ninth and completes the third row.

Estoril MotoGP qualifying results:

1 J Lorenzo (Sp) Yamaha @ 1:37.161

2 M Simoncelli (It) Ducati @ 1:37.294

3 D Pedrosa (Sp) Honda @ 1:37.324

4 C Stoner (Aus) Honda @ 1:37.384

5 B Spies (US) Honda @ 1:37.866

Controversy as Chelsea beat Spurs

Controversial goals from Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou, who struck in the last minute, kept alive Chelsea's hopes of catching leaders Manchester United.

Sandro gave Tottenham the lead when he fired an unstoppable half-volley past Petr Cech from 25 yards on 19 minutes.

When Heurelho Gomes spilled Lampard's 45th-minute shot he scrambled back and appeared to stop it from crossing the line, but the goal was given.

And Kalou looked offside as he bundled home Didier Drogba's shot late on.

Carlo Ancelotti's men will not care one bit about the manner of their goals as the win means they cut United's Premier League lead to three points, with the leaders playing at Arsenal on Sunday.

Chelsea and United then come face to face at Old Trafford next weekend in a game that will go a long way to deciding the outcome of the title.

For Tottenham the result is a devastating blow which all but ends their hopes of catching fourth-placed Manchester City and securing a second successive appearance in the Champions League.

The first half at Stamford Bridge was pulsating, with Chelsea showing their intent by pairing £50m striker Fernando Torres with Didier Drogba up front.

Tottenham, as ever, came to Stamford Bridge with their team set up to attack - Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Rafael van der Vaart, Aaron Lennon and Roman Pavlyuchenko all started for the visitors.

Both sides had early chances, but it was Drogba who came closest to breaking the deadlock, with his powerful 30-yard free-kick superbly tipped onto the bar by Gomes.

The Brazilian was proving a thorn in Chelsea's side and he also saved well from Lampard and Michael Essien in a frantic opening to the game.

But just as it looked like it was only a matter of time before the hosts opened the scoring, Tottenham took the lead in spectacular fashion with a goal out of nowhere.

Spurs midfielder Sandro opened his account for the club by finding the top right-hand corner of the net with a half-volley from 35 yards that screamed past Cech's helpless dive.

Chelsea came roaring back as the game went from one end to the other and Lampard's cross to Essien was tipped over the bar by Gomes before Torres attempted to head in from the resulting corner when he should have used his foot.

Tottenham looked threatening on the break and Branislav Ivanovic was booked for a crude challenge on the dangerous Bale, who was lively throughout.

Spurs seemed to be coping with everything that was thrown at them but Chelsea equalised in fortuitous circumstances just before half-time.

Not for the first time this season Gomes was to blame, with the Brazilian allowing Lampard's 25-yard shot to squirt through his legs.

The keeper seemed to have scrambled back and stopped the ball from crossing the line, but the assistant referee awarded the goal when even replays proved inconclusive.

Tottenham's players complained bitterly to referee Andre Marriner but their protests were in vain as the teams headed into the break level.

Gomes was called into action early in the second half as he palmed away Drogba's drive, with the Tottenham keeper looking even more nervy than usual.

Chelsea dominated the early stages of the half but struggled to break down a resilient Spurs defence and on the hour Torres was replaced by Kalou, with the Blues switching to 4-3-3.

The Ivorian had a glorious chance to give Chelsea the lead but he fired over from close range after Gomes had palmed Drogba's free-kick into his path.

Spurs called for Jermain Defoe from the bench and his introduction kicked them into life, with John Terry bringing down his England colleague on the edge of the area as he charged through on goal.

Chelsea appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty moments later after Younes Kaboul appeared to bring down Kalou, but replays showed the Spurs defender had in fact played the ball.

With time running out Chelsea became increasingly desperate and threw on Nicolas Anelka for Malouda, while Lampard went close with a trademark effort from 25 yards that just sailed past the upright.

It looked as though Tottenham were going to hold out for a point but the ball fell to Drogba in the box and although he mis-hit his shot across goal, it found Kalou at the back post and he bundled the ball home.

Replays showed that Tottenham were again unfortunate, with Kalou standing in an offside position, but the goal stood and Spurs left Stamford Bridge with nothing.

Chelsea and Man City go head to head for the 'new Nicolas Anelka'

Premier League champions Chelsea are set to go head to head with Manchester City, as well as Serie A giants Juventus and Inter Milan, for the signature of the ‘New Nicolas Anelka’ at the end of this season, says the Sun.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Christophe Bahebeck is the talk of Ligue 1 at the moment, despite the fact that the 17 year old has only made six appearances for the capital club so far this campaign.

However, with the in-demand front man set to be available on a free transfer when the window reopens once again on June 1, due to the player not having signed a professional contract with PSG, the cream of European football at getting ready to pounce and sign the wonderkid.

And, according to reports in the French media, it is Premier League rivals Chelsea and City who are presently in the driving seat to capture Bahebeck.

Jose Mourinho refuses to back down

Mourinho will not change his tactics to suit star striker Ronaldo

Jose Mourinho insists the images from Wednesday's loss to Barcelona back up his claims of foul play. 

The Real Madrid manager was charged by Uefa for 'inappropriate comments' in the aftermath of the 2-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat.

Mourinho claimed that Barcelona had been given favourable treatment by the referee and that they had yet to win a 'clean' Champions League title under Pep Guardiola.

In typically flamboyant fashion, Mourinho, who was sent off during the game, sidestepped the questions when asked about the Uefa charges.

"I am very well, thank you. I am in good health and working as always," he said.

Working

"I don't want to discuss this any further and for a simple reason.

"An image is worth more than 1000 words and there are so many images and those who criticise those images think they come from Photoshop or are a video montage. But they are real."

Mourinho had been linked with a departure away from Madrid in the summer after numerous clashes with the club's hierarchy during the campaign.

But he has revealed this incident has strengthened his resolve to stay at the club.

"To remain at Real Madrid makes more sense than ever before," he added.
Willingness

"Now I have more willingness to continue in charge of Real Madrid for what this means. This (Madrid) jersey is white, and white has more significance."

Mourinho is already preparing for the return leg and will rest top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for this weekend's Primera Liga match against Real Zaragoza.

The Portugal attacker has voiced his displeasure at his countryman's defensive tactics adopted against Barcelona.

"I don't like it, but I have to adapt because that's the way it is," he said.

But his coach hit back saying: "He can say what he wants - that's his opinion. It's not a problem for me."




skysports

David Stern wants to make the NBA worse than it currently is

David Stern would like to employ internationally styled goaltending rules, which allow you to touch the ball as it rests on the rim, and he's incredibly daft if he's actually serious.

NBAniks have long had a tough go of things trying to compare players from different eras, or various teams or dynasties that came before them. The pro game has changed around quite a bit over the last 65 years, with fast-paced and horribly inefficient play giving way to a dull game that saw terrible spacing due to a lack of a 3-point line, to the supposed (and defensively challenged) glory days of the '80s, the super-slow aftermath where defense was king, and whatever era we're in now. The greatest era, I'll submit. The game is great. Did you see Kevin Durant(notes) hit that game-clincher Wednesday night?

And David Stern, because he wants to go out in a blaze of incompetence and needless gravitas, wants to say bully to all that (no pun intended). He wants to make it legal for Nick Collison(notes) to swat an otherwise gorgeous Dirk Nowitzki(notes) jumper off the rim, as it swishes around the goal and prepares to drop in.

He wants to allow international-style goaltending rules to take hold of the NBA game. And he's a right nutter, if I can speak like an English-speaking European, for wanting to do so.

From an interview with Dan LeBatard, via Sports Radio Interviews:

    "Well I'm going to urge the owners -- and it's not very radical but we were talking about it for awhile -- to adopt the international rule on basket interference. That is to say, once the ball hits the rim it's in play. Because I think that it's too hard to call. I think that we don't want to stop the game every time to see if it's the right call, but the camera that looks down on the basket can tell the story if the refs have gotten it right. And it's just impossible to call to make whether the ball's touching the rim, on the rim, off the rim or the like.  And I think that would make the game faster, better, and less controversial."

Yes, totally less controversial. Because a player jumping up to knock a ball that is rolling around on a 10-foot rim would happen, what, once or twice a game? To Stern's eyes, the amount of iffy goaltending calls (usually about one or two a contest) would simply be replaced by the newly legal international-style legal goaltending.

Also, he's crazy to think that.

Apologies for going in this direction, but the NBA is a more athletic league than you're typical FIBA-based organization. Players are bigger, they jump higher, and they're steadied around the rim more often than their international counterparts. Toss in a few years worth of practice as players get used to taking shots off the rim, and you'd have field goal percentages dropping significantly as players learn to do this every other time down court. Just as it currently is with the charge calls that "defenders" can ably rely on as they run underneath someone who has jumped in the air, or the old illegal defense calls that Stern had to adjust for a decade ago.

One can't compare this sort of change to the time players spend in international tournaments like the Olympics, because the quick training camp and dozen-game turn doesn't lend itself to getting used to legal goaltending.

A full training camp and, with playoff teams, a hundred-game season? That's different. And that would, pardon my junior high French, suck.

Stern is full of hot air these days, as he gets ready to lock out his players in the midst of record attendance and much-improved TV ratings, so there is the good chance that he's just full of fake bluster as he tries to change the headlines away from the referees (oh, crap, I just realized that this was yet another backhanded way of slamming the league's beleaguered refs) and the lockout and into something that will make a good cable TV segment, but the idea deserves to be swatted down before it even gets to committee.

Legally, of course. With the shot, however poorly aimed, on its way up.

yahoo

Barcelona beat Real Madrid with Messi magic

 It only seems a week ago that Real Madrid so famously outfoxed Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium to win the Copa del Rey. And it only feels like a week ago that Sergio Ramos whilst celebrating on the team bus dropped the monster of a trophy underneath it.

Of course it was just a week ago - but a week is seems is a lifetime in football.

Last night at the Bernabeu the pendulum had swung back into Barcelona's favour after a 2-0 Champions League first leg victory. The score was the perfect away result in European football, the same could not be said of the game.

I had commented that the first half of that Copa del Rey final felt like a meeting between Argentina 1990 and Holland 2006 - after an improved second half and extra time, that was soon forgotten.

Here, we had that scenario for almost the entire ninety minutes. The tone of the game was set with less than sixty seconds gone. Here we had to endure players falling, players Diving, players influencing the referee, influencing the crowd to react, players feigning injury, punches thrown, players being kicked and even a strangulation - all from the supposed best two teams in Europe, if not the world.

Last night, apart from a few glorious seconds from Lionel Messi, football took a battering.

Jose Mourinho admitted afterwards that he had set up his team to draw 0-0 at home. In one way you could see his point that conceding an away goal in Europe is suicide.

But how about trying to take a lead to a stadium where he has never won as an opposing manager?

Mourinho would be sent to the stands after clapping the officials who in keeping in line with El Clasico's sent off Pepe for a high foot studs first challenge.

The Portugal international did not connect but in my opinion the intent was there. For all of Pepe's shortcomings one wonders if it had been Xavi or Messi, or indeed Cristiano Ronaldo, would the same colour card have been applied?

It was a turning point in the match though - that could not be denied. With Mourinho's newly appointed midfield general out of the picture, Barcelona found more gaps to plug the balls into, though they were getting increasingly dangerous before Pepe's sending off.

And what of Barcelona?

Time and again hailed as the best club side of a generation, with a few excitables even claiming that they are the best club side of all time. On the face of it they played as they usually do, keeping possession. At one point Barcelona had a 72% possession advantage but the ugly side to their game was undeniable.

Pedro and Sergio Busquets led that shameful line; both players feigning injury clutching their faces after challenges that had happened elsewhere.

Unless these players have an allergy to air then in an ideal world they should have seen red too. Carles Puyol too followed suit. The constant bantering and surrounding of the referee every time a challenge went in was awful viewing. Perhaps in a weeks time at the Camp Nou, UEFA can roll out Chuck Norris who in the same situation could roundhouse and kick them all to the ground.

At least Pedro and Busquets would finally know how it felt to be hit in the face.

Real Madrid of course were hardly innocent bystanders, with perhaps their player of the season Angel Di Maria happy to spend half the game lying on the pitch flapping his arms around - all in order to get Barcelona defender Dani Alves sent off.

He finally got a yellow card but while Alves may play a physical game there is a fine line between that and running into your opponent, as Di Maria quite clearly did.

As for the games highlights it's like trying to pick out the meat from a roast that has been devoured by a family of four - where do you start?

Though once Barcelona who were clearly rattled by Real's tactics, last week put the respect aside they started to believe in their game again. Maybe the time of the first goal was inevitable (given the first goal times of the previous two matches the average was about right that someone was going to open the scoring on the 76th minute) and so it proved.

Who else but Lionel Messi, who scored his first open goal against a Mourinho side with a neat quick finish through the legs of Iker Casillas.

With the away goal achieved Barcelona started to look confident, whilst Real Madrid suddenly looked like the team from last November who took a 5-0 thrashing at Camp Nou. Mourinho, now sat behind metal bars after his dismissal, sat glumly as if the whole footballing establishment were against him. An establishment that oversaw a Mourinho team winning the Champions League last season, defeating Barcelona in the semi finals it should be noted.

Ten minutes after Messi's first goal the Argentinian found the switch to light the show up with a quite stunning goal. Evading five challenges, Messi weaved his way to goal slotting past Casillas for 0-2. It was a fine goal and in such a match as a semi final against Real Madrid it will rightly be remembered for some time.

In contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo had a quiet game.

And so the end result is that we are heading for a repeat of the 2009 final Barcelona v Manchester United. Mourinho may have no complaints. Afterall there was at least £100m of player talent on the bench. It is in some ways astonishing that Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain and Kaka got no playing time in the most important of games.

How that would have translated to the attack minded owner Florentino Perez is anyones guess. Perhaps because Real ended up with ten men Perez will stand by his man for the time being. One thing is clear though that one or two of those benched superstars will be moving on from the club if Mourinho remains for a second season.

The last thoughts should be for Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, who after his choice words in the pre match press conference has come out smelling of roses. He will be content to lose all games off the Field if his side are to win on it. One word of caution for Guardiola though: if Barcelona are to dominate world football for the next few years, make sure the team do it with grace and - whisper it - fair play.

Strong line up announced for 2011 AEGON Championships at Queens

 The full line-up for this year’s AEGON Championships at Queens Club has been announced, with the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro all set to feature in the pre-Wimbledon warm-up vent that takes place between June 6 and 12.
 

Joining those top-ranked players in the draw for the competition are dangerous outsiders such as Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Marin Cilic, Fernando Verdasco and Ivan Ljubicic.

“This is arguably the strongest field of players we have ever had, with the top two players in the world in Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, former champions Andy Murray and Andy Roddick, and the 2009 US Open Champion, Juan Martin Del Potro,” tournament Director Chris Kermode said on the tournament’s official website.

“We also have a field of great depth this year, with every player on the entry list ranked inside the world’s Top 100. It means that there will be big names and great matches from day one and we are really looking forward to it.”

Chelsea in major squad overhaul, starting with two big name stars

 Premier League champions Chelsea are planning a radical overhaul of their first-team squad at the end of the season, with the first two players set to depart Stamford Bridge being France internationals Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda, says the Daily Mirror.

The Blues’ billionaire owner Roman Abramovich is determined to freshen up the West Londoners’ playing staff by getting rid of a lot of the dead wood currently at the club, which also includes the likes of Paulo Ferreira, Jose Bosingwa and Yuri Zhirkov, and replacing them with players aged between 21 and 28, with the first two names on the Russian’s wish list said to be Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale and Ajax right-back Gregory Van Der Wiel, as well as a new midfield playmaker.

Meanwhile, Anelka and Malouda will both be deemed surplus to requirements come the summer, regardless of whether the current head coach Carlo Ancelotti is still in charge next season or not.