Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has had to refute speculation that star defender Ashley Cole could soon be leaving the club this summer for La Liga giants Real Madrid. The England international has been linked with a move to foreign shores after failing to come to terms with media scrutiny following his separation from pop star wife Cheryl Cole, with former boss Jose Mourinho offering an escape route to the Bernabeu.

It was not the first time the Italian has had to insist that the player was not going anywhere, but after reported emerged over the weekend that Cole had spoken to him during a training session and indicated his desire to leave the club and country, Ancelotti moved quickly to squash the rumours after the Premier League champions’ pre-season friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt.

“Ashley Cole will not be sold at any price,” Ancelotti said.

“There is no price that we would sell him at. We believe he is the best left-back in the world and because of this he will stay at this club.

“Nothing has changed in our position. Everyone can forget about Ashley Cole leaving this club.”

The Blues boss would be rightly concerned about the possibility of Cole leaving for greener pastures after watching his side slump to another pre-season defeat as a result of shockingly poor defending.

There will also be worries over the readiness of Chelsea’s reserve goalkeepers Hilario and Ross Turnbull to stand in for the injured Petr Cech, who has been ruled out for the start of the Premier League season due to injury. The former was at fault for Eintracht Frankfurt’s opening goal while Turnbull put on a horror show during the club’s previous loss to Ajax which led to Ancelotti chastising the player in public after the game.

Tags: Ashley Cole, Chelsea, English Premier League, La Liga, Real Madrid, transfer news