Luiz Felipe Scolari begins life as Chelsea’s manager this morning having secured his first signing. The Champions League finalists yesterday completed the purchase of the Barcelona midfielder Deco on a two-year contract.

The 30-year-old playmaker has followed his Portugal manager to west London in an £8m deal which may yet have an effect on Frank Lampard’s future at Stamford Bridge. The England midfielder is currently on holiday in Italy but with only a year to run on his contract he has been courted byChelsea’s former manager, Jose Mourinho, who is now at Internazionale. Deco’s arrival appears to threaten Lampard’s place in the team.

The Premier League club had been unsure whether Deco, who was below par in a Barcelona side well adrift of Real Madrid last season, represented value for money but they were persuaded by his fine form at Euro 2008. The midfielder was a key member of Scolari’s squad in Austria and Switzerland as Portugal reached the quarter-finals and has long been viewed as the coach’s on-pitch lieutenant.

“I am sure I have come [to Chelsea] at the right time to do great things and be able to help Chelsea go back to the way it was and be first, not only in England but also to win the Champions League,” said Deco. “That has been their dream for so long. The Premier League is a great league and it is getting better. You could see that at the Champions League final where you had two English teams.”

“It is great that we have so many great players here at Chelsea and it is great that there is the competition which is healthy for everybody. This just makes the team better. To have great players in any position just enhances the club. I know it is a new challenge but I am looking forward to it. I know I need a little bit of time to adapt but I am sure I will adapt quite well and quite fast and do my best for the team.”

The Brazilian-born midfielder is a two-times European Cup winner, with Porto in 2004 and Barcelona in 2006, who came close to moving to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004. He fell out of favour towards the end of Frank Rijkaard’s reign at Barcelona.

His vision and ability on the ball will be appreciated in the Premier League, with the creativity that was a key factor for Scolari’s Portugal team. He joins his national team-mate Jose Bosingwa, a £16m arrival from Porto, at Chelsea and his signature is a small victory for the club over Mourinho. The Inter manager had hoped to be reunited with a player he first coached at Porto, where Deco earned the nickname “Magico”. Further struggles appear to lie ahead, however.

Scolari supplied a list of potential signings to the Chelsea chief executive, Peter Kenyon. It was topped by Milan’s Kaka. Scolari would still like to meet the likes of Lampard and Ricardo Carvalho to discuss their prospects at the club. Inter have expressed interest in both players.

Chelsea’s first-team squad are due back at training next Monday. Chelsea had wanted to keep Lampard but they are aware that, though there has been no formal contact between the clubs, Inter have made their interest known.

Carvalho’s future in west London has also, potentially, been complicated by Mourinho’s appointment at Inter. Chelsea had intended to open discussions with the player on a new contract when he returned for pre-season training. Asked about his future, the Portugal defender was noncommittal both prior to the Champions League final and at Euro 2008.

Ref From guardian.co.uk

The Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez has bolstered his backroom staff with the appointment of former Argentina defender Mauricio Pellegrino as the club’s first-team coach. The 36-year-old Pellegrino, who played 12 times for Liverpool in 2005, has made the switch from Valencia where he was youth-team coach. He will work under both Benítez and assistant manger Sammy Lee.

“Pellegrino has a winning mentality. He won the Intercontinental Cup before going to Spain with Barcelona and Valencia,” said Benítez. “He’ll also carry out specialist training sessions. He can also work specifically with the defence, and also the reserves. He has a lot of passion. When I asked him to come he was very pleased, but first he wanted to find out if there was a school where his three children could play good football. He is a football man.”

Last season Liverpool’s management team saw the departure of Alex Miller, who took up a management job with JEF United in Japan, and first-team coach Pako Ayesteran.

Ref From guardian.co.uk

Liverpool are hoping to complete the signing of Udinese full-back Andrea Dossena next week.

Reds chief executive Rick Parry confirmed a deal for the 26-year-old Italian is almost done.

“We are now ready to confirm the signing of Dossena. The deal should go through next week,” Parry told the club’s official website.

Dossena will be seen as an ideal replacement for John Arne Riise who signed for Roma earlier this month.

The Norwegian spent seven years at Anfield and Parry paid tribute to the former Monaco player.

“John was an incredibly enthusiastic defender who was always a great pro,” he told the club’s official website.

“He worked hard and never gave us a minute’s trouble. The fans will remember that powerful shot of his that brought them to their feet on many occasions.

“We had a good chat about his time here and he wants to thank the fans for the support he was given down the years. He secured Champions League and FA Cup success at Anfield and also helped us win the Worthington Cup and two European Super Cups.”

Dossena, who has been capped once by Italy, will become manager Rafael Benitez’s second signing of the summer following the arrival of Swiss full-back Phillip Degen on a free transfer.

Ref From BBC SPORT