As one part of London experiences closure, the other carries on with life. So it is that Chelsea are in the thick of a bunch of juicy rumours.

After drawing 0-0 at Stoke, Andre Villas-Boas is convinced of the need for creativity in midfield, according to The Sun, and are ready to go back with a £30 million bid for Luka Modric. Another suggested option is to offer Tottenham £27 million plus Yossi Benayoun, although a report in the Daily Mail claims the Blues would be wiser to offer Didier Drogba as Spurs are looking for a striker.

Benayoun is believed to be interested in a move to Spurs, if Chelsea decide to include him in the deal, and The Sun report claims Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is softening in his stance to keep the Croat.

Another option Chelsea are believed to be considering is a bid for Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles. The Portuguese international was the PFA Fans Player of the Year last year, after impressive performances after Kenny Dalglish took charge of Liverpool. However, he has fallen out of favour with Dalglish and is currently surplus to requirements at Anfield (he came on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against Sunderland during the weekend).

Villas-Boas is familiar with the 28-year-old, during their time together at Porto, and is reportedly attempting to lure him to Stamford Bridge, while Liverpool look to balance the books after the summer spending spree and are looking to reduce the overload of midfielders.

Meireles is surplus to requirements at Anfield. - Reuters

By any measure, the biggest rumour of the day is that Chelsea are planning to hijack Samir Nasri from under Manchester City's noses. According to fanatix.com, City, who were on the verge of offering the £22 million demanded by Arsenal for the French player, have been distracted by the possibility of signing Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan. It has left Nasri in a state of limbo, especially after being subject to abusive chants during Arsenal's match against Newcastle despite him being omitted from the squad.

Chelsea are desperate for a creative figure in midfield, and if they fail in their pursuit of Modric, they might make a move for Nasri. Although Arsenal would prefer it if their stars didn't move to crosstown rivals or potential title rivals, the fact that Chelsea could offer the required fee in cash to take off an unhappy player could force their hand.

Another weak point which was noted during Chelsea's match at Stoke was the absence of an out-and-out winger. Since the early days of Jose Mourinho's reign, when Damien Duff and Arjen Robben provided the 4-3-3 with much-envied width, there hasn't been a similar winger at the club. Insidefutbol.com has reported that Chelsea are interested in signing Hamburg winger Eljero Elia.

The Dutch international has rejected the chance to move to Juventus, and the report quotes him favouring a move to Chelsea, along with Arsenal.

"Hamburg told me they had rejected an offer from Juventus, but I did not care", revealed Elia to the Hamburger Morgenpost. "I'm not interested in moving to a team on the same level, as they (Juventus) are not a better team than Hamburg.

"If we talk about Arsenal or Chelsea", he added, "then my reaction would be different."

Finally, The Mirror has reported that Nicholas Anelka is looking to move away from Stamford Bridge as he was furious at being left on the substitutes bench for the Stoke game.

Earlier in the summer, Anelka had stated that he was keen to fight for his place.

"I still have one more year, and I am pleased with the work I've done since I came to Chelsea. I'm still here. I want to stay on until the end of my contract in one year and after that we will see what happens.

"I have never said I wanted to leave Chelsea. Even if there's an offer from someone else, I don't care because I'm seeing out my contract at the club."

However, he has now, reportedly, taken a u-turn and is believed to want out of Chelsea, although the club have said that the player has not handed in a transfer request as yet.

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