EXCLUSIVE: Come in Carlo - Roman goes for Ancelotti after giving up on Guus

By Matt Lawton Chief Football Correspondent

Roman Abramovich has identified Carlo Ancelotti as the next manager of Chelsea after conceding he will not be able to keep Guus Hiddink at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of this season.

Abramovich has informed Chelsea’s players of the political complications in trying to extract Hiddink permanently from his role as coach of Russia before next year’s World Cup. The players stunned their Russian billionaire owner by urging him to bring back Jose Mourinho.

But Abramovich is in no mood to do that, and according to sources in Italy has instead opted for Ancelotti, a 49-year-old Italian who has guided Milan to two European Cups and a Serie A title in eight years at the San Siro.

Ancelotti’s deal with Milan ends this summer and Sportsmail understands the terms of a three-year deal with Chelsea have already been discussed.

The Milan boss’s lack of English has concerned some Stamford Bridge officials but Abramovich wanted Ancelotti before he eventually turned to Luiz Felipe Scolari last summer and this time he is determined to get his man.

Last year Ancelotti confirmed that an approach had been made to him prior to Scolari’s appointment, but that he had opted to stay at Milan. Since then, however, the situation at Milan has changed.

His employers were prepared to sell Brazilian superstar Kaka to Manchester City three months ago in a world record £100million deal and yesterday Florentino Perez vowed to lure the Brazilian to the Bernabeu this summer if he is re-elected as Real Madrid president.

Milan’s apparent lack of ambition and the power and influence of the Barclays Premier League now look like being enough to change Ancelotti’s mind, giving club owner Abramovich the manager he wanted all along.

Hiddink has impressed Chelsea’s players. He has restored some discipline to the side, even limiting his team-talks to no more than 12 minutes so he can hold their
attention.

He tells players to leave the training pitch if, in his opinion, they are not working hard
enough and his tough new regime has clearly revived a team that was floundering under Scolari.

But Abramovich has now realised it will be impossible to retain the Dutchman, even though he has rescued a Russian federation which was in financial meltdown and paid Hiddink’s wages.

As one source put it last night: ‘It is not worth incurring the wrath of the political machine in Russia over a football manager. I think the feeling in Russia is that the oligarchs need to be putting something back in rather than taking even more away.’

Once made aware of the situation, the players did suggest Abramovich go back for Mourinho and rescue him from what is proving a unhappy stay at Inter Milan.

But Mourinho went because of a breakdown in his relationship with Abramovich, leaving Ancelotti as the top Chelsea target.