Gokhan Tore Bio

Chelsea have moved to sign promising Turkish youngster Gokhan Tore from German club Bayer Leverkusen.

A statement on the Bundesliga side's official website stated, "Bayer 04 Leverkusen midfielder Gokhan Tore has moved to the English Premier League side Chelsea. "The Turkey U-17 international has signed a contract up to 30.6.2012.

Again, the details of the transfer have not been disclosed by mutual consent. Gokhan Tore has been at Bayer 04 since August 1999."Although born in Cologne, Germany, the 5ft 9in 17-year-old attacking midfielder has represented Turkey from under-15 to under-17 level.

Nemanja Matic Bio

A Serbian international, Matic was signed by Chelsea in the summer of 2009 to add squad depth to their side.

A player with both Serbian and Slovak nationality, he had a trial early in the 2008-09 Premier League season with Middlesbrough, but did not make the move.

The midfielder played for Jedinstvo Ub and Kolubara Lazarevac before joining MFK Kosice in 2007, and was snapped up by the Blues for a fee of around £1.5m.

Yuri Zhirkov Bio

Zhirkov moved to Chelsea in July 2009 from CSKA Moscow in a deal believed to be worth in the region of £18m.

The Russia international made the move after a five-year stint with CSKA. He joined them in 2004 from Spartak Tambov. He made his debut for Tambov in 2001 and scored 26 goals in 74 games for the Russian third division outfit.

But it was at CSKA where he cemented his place as a wide man with a deft left foot, lightning pace and exceptional dribbling ability - scoring 15 goals in 139 appearances for the club.

He can play left-back but is comfortable in any position on that wing and it was as a more attacking midfielder that he won the UEFA Cup in 2005 after scoring during a 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the final.

Zhirkov made his Russia debut in 2005 against Italy and has since made 31 appearances for his country - the majority of which have come under Chelsea's former interim boss Guus Hiddink.

He was named in the Euro 2008 'Team of the Tournament' after an impressive contribution throughout the competition as a wing-back when Russia were the surprise package in making the semi-finals. They lost to eventual winners Spain.

Zhirkov won the Russian Premier League twice with CSKA in 2005 and 2006 and has three Russian Cups to his name, in 2005, 2006 and 2008.

Michael Mancienne Bio

England youth captain Mancienne is seen as a great prospect at Chelsea. And that was underlined in November 2008 when Fabio Capello handed the player a shock call-up into the senior squad for the international friendly with Germany.

The central defender, who can also play on the right or in midfield, joined Chelsea at the age of eight and has come through the ranks.

Mancienne, who as snubbed the chance to play for the Seychelles national team in favour of his native England, gained his first taste of league football in a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers.

He moved to Loftus Road in October 2006 and the loan was eventually extended until the end of the season.

Mancienne made his debut in a 3-2 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday and went on to make 30 appearances for the Championship club. He returned to Loftus Road on loan in August 2007 where he played a further 31 games.

The player's performances continued to draw attention and praise from many Championship viewers when he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan in October 2008. He shone as Wolves blazed a trail at the top of the table.

He was then fast-tracked into the full England team by Capello after just eight appearances for the Under-21 squad - and never having played a single game for Chelsea.

Salomon Kalou Bio

A player whose development has not exactly skyrocketed as a Chelsea player, Kalou's shows of promise make him a player who may yet be reckoned with at Stamford Bridge. His surprising move to sign Salomon Kalou from Feyenoord Rotterdam in May 2006 for a fee believed to be in the region of £9million.

The striker had been with the Eredivisie club for the whole of his professional career, bar a brief loan spell with Excelsior at the end of the 2003/04 season.

Kalou was born in Ivory Coast but failed in a bid to obtain Dutch nationality in order to play for Holland at the 2006 World Cup.

Supported by Netherlands coach Marco van Basten and the country's former playmaker Cruyff, Kalou applied for Dutch citizenship but was denied by Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk.

The player, signed as back-up to the Blues' legion of stars, made his debut as a 26th minute replacement for Michael Ballack in the Community Shield defeat to Liverpool.

A pacy and dangerous performer, he is the brother of Bonaventure Kalou, who played for the Ivory Coast at the 2006 World Cup. He can play on the wing or in a deep-lying role, making him a versatile performer.

His Chelsea career started slowly yet in the second half of his debut season he began to impress. That improvement continued during the 2007/8 season where he regularly featured on the left-wing of a front three or as an impact sub.

He eventually opted to play for the Ivory Coast, and finally made his debut in February 2007 in a friendly against Guinea.

He picked up FA Cup and League Cup winners' medals in 2006/07.

Didier Drogba Bio

As good a player as he is, Drogba will always be regarded with suspicion by many for his theatrical style and regular displays of petulance. His strong and powerful displays have made him vitally important to Chelsea's system yet his conduct has cost them on the highest stage; his sending off in Moscow on May 21 2008 was reprehensible and foolish and ultimately cost his team a penalty-taker and/or goal threat. A series of injuries and outbursts against his club after the departure of Jose Mourinho scarred a season in which he could still be influential. .

Ivory Coast international Drogba arrived in France in 1983, living with his uncle Michel Goba - who had also been a professional footballer in the French Second Division.

He began his career as a right-back with Dunkirk, before being converted to a striker during his time with Abbeville.

After an enforced sabbatical he joined Levallois in 1994 and then opted to join less glamourous club Le Mans where he was coached by his 'spiritual father', Marc Westerloppe.

The striker was never prolific for Le Mans, and he fell out of favour after Westerloppe had been sacked and replaced by Thierry Goudet.

Guingamp came in in for the player in 2001, and in 2002/03 their faith in the player's ability was repaid with 17 goals. Drogba also won his first ever call-up into the full Ivory Coast squad.

In the summer of 2003 he was signed by Marseille for £3.3million. The player enjoyed an outstanding season, scoring five Champions League goals despite Marseille's exit in the group stage.

His form continued in the UEFA Cup, bagging a further six goals as Marseille lost out in the final to Valencia.

New Blues boss Mourinho got his man for an undisclosed fee - believed to be £24million, smashing the British record fee for a striker in the following summer.

Drogba made his debut for the club in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on the opening day of the 2004/05 campaign.

Slow to start shining for Chelsea, he neverthless won two Premier League titles and by the time Andriy Shevchenko arrived in the summer of 2006, he was able to outshine the Ukrainian and become the best in the British business. He scored winning goals in both the Carling Cup and FA Cup Finals of 2007, cementing his eye for the big occasion. He followed up with a free-kick in the 2008 Carling Cup Final, though this time Spurs were the victors, and then came his moment of Moscow madness.

John Mikel Obi Bio

Mikel's strength on the ball and natural aggression seem to make him perfect for the English game and though many in Nigeria see him as an attacking player, he has usually been employed as a withdrawn midfielder in the Makelele mould for his club. Chelsea got their man in the summer of 2006 when Mikel John Obi finally put pen to paper on a contract at at Stamford Bridge, but it was a controversial deal which eventually cost the Blues £16million.

The Nigerian international began his career with Plateau United in his homeland and had been due to join Manchester United in January 2005 from Lyn Oslo. But then, in a U-turn, he said he had been put under pressure to sign for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

United had been tracking the player ever since the Nigerian Under-17 squad had trained at their Carrington complex ahead of the World Championships in 2003. And they thought they had secured his signature.

For several weeks in late 2005 at the height of the dispute, Mikel went missing from Lyn. Months of international wrangling followed before FIFA got to the bottom of the affair.

The teenager was forced to train alone in Nigeria without team-mates to comfort him as the row rumbled on.

Mikel played in the African Nations Cup for the senior Nigeria team but the bitter transfer saga prevented him from playing much domestic football.

The upshot of the whole sorry episode was that Chelsea had to pay their Premiership rivals £12million while his original club, Norwegian outfit Lyn Oslo, were paid a further £4million.

Obi's career certainly started slowly has he struggled to adapt to the pace of the Premier League.

Mikel has been wracked by a series of disciplinary problems both at the club and on the field; he was twice sent off during the 2007/8 season. to follow two sendings off in 2006/7.

He played at 2008 African Nations Cup where Nigeria exited at the quarter-final stage to hosts Ghana.

Nicolas Anelka

First thing that should be said is that Anelka is a highly skilful striker. But that always seems to be followed by his being a character who is a law unto himself at times and has earned himself the nickname 'the Incredible Sulk'.

He burst onto the scene after being signed by Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger as a virtual unknown in February 1997, costing the Gunners just £500,000 from Paris St Germain. .

He starred in the Gunners 1997/8 double-winning campaign and was also in the goals during the following season.

He was very much outspoken in his final season at Highbury and eventually said he would not play for the club ever again after receiving overtures from the continent. That left Wenger with no choice but to sell him to Real Madrid for £23million in August 1999.

He failed to really shine at Real... before falling out with the club and returning to PSG in the summer of 2000.

But his stay at PSG was far from happy, and he eventually fell out with the club. The PSG board said their relationship with the player had completely collapsed.

It was Liverpool who pulled off something of a transfer coup on Christmas Eve 2001 when they took Anelka on loan for the remainder of the season after selling Robbie Fowler to Leeds United.

But the Reds denied the move represented any kind of risk.

It was thought that Liverpool would sign Anelka on a permanent basis, but in May 2002 Gerard Houllier announced that he did not want to keep the striker.

Manchester City boss Kevin Keegan then immediately made a move for the star, and at the beginning of June 2002 he sealed his signature in a £13million deal.

Anelka scored 14 Premiership goals in his first season at City, and he topped that with 17 in 2003/04 - and 25 in all competitions.

In the 2003/04 term rumours surfaced that the player had fallen out with manager Kevin Keegan. That was denied, but Anelka's body language on the pitch suggested differently.

In January 2005 Manchester City announced they had agreed to sell Anelka to Turkish team Fenerbahçe for £7million. He played a major role in ensuring they captured the Turkish title in 2005 before again becoming unsettled during the following season.

But it was Bolton Wanderers who eventually came in for the French star, and he signed a four year deal for a club record of £8m ahead of the 2006/07 season. . Anelka's goals propelled Bolton to the UEFA Cup yet he was soon on the move. January 2008 saw him move to Chelsea for £15m. It proved to be among his more disastrous moves, and he scored one goal for the Blues before missing the last penalty in the shoot-out with Manchester United in the Champions League Final. His attitude after that signalled that another move was surely on the cards to add to the £87m-worth he had already been involved in.

Scott Sinclair Bio

Scott Sinclair is a Chelsea player who has played plenty of London football. Though very little of it for Chelsea as they continue to send him out on loan to gain experience. Season 2007/8 saw him spend time on loan at QPR, Crystal Palace and Charlton as first-team opportunities were limited at Stamford Bridge.

Sinclair signed for Chelsea in 2005 having come through the ranks with Bristol Rovers, and he did so without telling his old club his intentions. It caused much anger in Bristol.

The forward made his debut for Rovers at the age of 15 against Leyton Orient and had made only three appearances before making the switch to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea were ordered to pay Rovers £200,000 for the player, rising to £1million based on his progress. Rovers also have a 15 per cent sell-on clause.

Although made his Chelsea debut in a 1-1 League Cup draw with Wycombe, replacing Salomon Kalou for the final moments, it was during a loan spell at Plymouth that Sinclair came to prominence.

Sinclair moved to the Pilgrims in January 2007 and made his bow in a 3-2 home win over Coventry City. He then bagged his first ever goal in the following game, a 2-1 FA Cup win at Barnet.

On his return to Chelsea he made his Premier League debut in a 1-1 draw at Arsenal, replacing Shaun Wright-Phillips for the final ten minutes.

Florent Malouda Bio

Frenchman Malouda was Jose Mourinho's last signing as Chelsea boss and never really got the opportunity to play for the Portugese coach after he quit the club in September 2007. His first season with the club saw him perform well below the level expected of him after a lengthy chase for his £13.5million signing from Lyon.

A poor summer showing at Euro 2008 seemed to confirm to many that he was short of the class required for a club of the aspirations of Chelsea.

A left-footed attacking midfielder who is both technically gifted and physically strong, the left-winger who can also play in the middle began his career at Châteauroux in 1996 before moving on to Guingamp in 2000.

His performances there earned the big £4.2m move to Lyon three years later where he won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles.

Malouda was a team-mate of Didier Drogba at Guingamp and the pair enjoyed a happy spell together.

The 'old boys reunion' will also feature Michael Essien, as the pair played together at Lyon for two years before the Ghana midfielder moved to the Premier League.

He became one of the highly-rated players in French football, winning his first full international cap on November 17, 2004 against Poland.

The winger was also a member of the French squad at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He was an unused sub in the opening match but then started every match as France lost out on penalties to Italy in the final.

Malouda was named the Player of the Season in Ligue 1 for 2006/07 prior to his move to Chelsea.

Frank Lampard Bio

Lampard remains a firm favourite at Stamford Bridge though perhaps not for his country where his inability to partner Steven Gerrard has become a subject of jest.

In the blue shirt his goalscoring exploits from the centre of the park remain outstanding - and he outscores almost every striker in the Premier League.

Destined to to stay Stamford Bridge until 2013 after signing a new contract in August 2008, his future seemed to lie away from the club. Inter Milan and former boss Jose Mourinho seemed set to lure him to Italy yet Lampard chose to continue his hugely successful stay at Chelsea, where he remains a firm favourite.

His eye for goal, attacking influence and deadball ability make him one of the best midfielders around at domestic and European level.

Lampard first rose through the ranks at West Ham United with his father Frank Lampard Snr part of the backroom staff.

He made his debut for West Ham on the final day of 1995/6 aged 17.

The midfielder gradually became more important to the Hammers and by 1997/98 was a first team regular despite still being a teenager.

Lampard's performances gained the attention of the England coaching staff, and he made his full debut against Belgium in October 1999.

Lampard left West Ham in the summer of 2001 after his father, along with manager Harry Redknapp, had also departed. He moved across London to join Chelsea for £11million.

At the time many laughed at Chelsea's decision to spend such a vast amount of money on him. It would turn out to be one of the all-time bargains.

But after impressive start to the 2003/4 season he regained his place in the national squad and scored his first international goal as England beat Croatia 3-1 in a friendly at Portman Road in August.

It was that same season that Lampard truly began to come of age. He would win numerous plaudits for his energetic displays in the Chelsea midfield.

Amid the uncertainty caused by the influx of Chelsea's expensive summer signings after Roman Abramovich arrived at the Bridge it was Lampard who blossomed to be the only ever present in 2003/04.

Lampard bagged three goals in four games at Euro 2004 as England reached the quarter-finals, cementing a place for himself in the starting line-up.

That form was followed by a superlative 2004/5 season and earned him the Football Writers' Player of the Year Award.

And he underlined that by finishing second to Barcelona's Ronaldinho in both the European and World Player of the Year awards.

After helping Chelsea to consecutive Premiership titles, Lampard had a woeful 2006 World Cup from which his national reputation may never recover.

A club level, he will long remain a Chelsea idol, being the the top scoring midfielder in Chelsea's history.

Michael Essien Bio

Michael Essien

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Michael Essien Bio

Extremely powerful and with great energy and stamina to match undoubted skill, Essien has proved to be a commanding midfield presence for Chelsea since signing from Lyon for £24.4m in August 2005. And even when called upon to play on the right of defence the Ghanaian international has been superb, though his talents are somewhat wasted there.

Chelsea completed the protracted signing of Essien in August 2005 after a chase which had lasted the whole summer.

He made his debut as a second half substitute in a 1-0 victory over Arsenal and made an instant impact.

Essien had tasted success early in his career as he picked up a gold medal with Ghana at the African Under-17 Championship and a bronze medal at World Under-17 Championships.

He moved to France in 2001 when joining Bastia from Liberty Professionals, reaching the French Cup final in his debut season.

That same year he had won another medal - a silver at World Youth Championships.

The midfielder made his full debut for Ghana at the 2002 African Cup of Nations.

Lyon made their move for Essien in 2003, paying £5.2million, after he had made 66 appearances and scored 11 goals for Bastia. By the end of his first season he was already being linked with Liverpool and Everton.

Essien's first season with Lyon saw him pick up his first championship medal, a feat he repeated in 2004/05 as the club also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

He was voted Player of the Year by France's National Union of Professional Footballers in 2004/05.

The combative midfielder was signed as the perfect midfield partner for Frank Lampard at the heart of Chelsea's engine room, with Claude Makelele providing the cover in front of the back four.

New Lyon manager Gerard Houllier, the former Liverpool boss, described Essien as a player in the same class as Steven Gerrard, Lampard, Michael Ballack and Patrick Vieira.

But Essien, who penned a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge, rejected comparisons with other midfield stars insisting 'everyone has his own style of play'.

He helped Ghana to reach the World Cup for the first ever time in 2006 and extended his Chelsea contract to run until 2012 that summer.

His success continued in 2007 as he was named Chelsea's Player of the Year, adding League Cup and FA Cup winners' medals to his Premiership title of 12 months earlier.

He again shone during 2007/8, with Chelsea fans unable to imagine life without such a force of nature.

Deco Bio

Chelsea signed the Portugal midfielder after a Euro 2008 showing which rolled back the years to his Porto pomp. For £8m the Blues finally signed a player they had long coveted.

At his best, this little midfield magician has the ability to tear teams apart with his fine passing ability.

Yet there had been great concern surrounding the form and fitness of Deco in Portugal ahead of Euro 2008 as he has endured something of a disrupted season at Barcelona. Until that troubled last season, he spent a successful time in Catalunya, adding to his 2004 Champions League success with Porto with two Liga titles and another Champions League win in 2006. At Barca he may have had to play second fiddle to the creative talents of stars like Ronaldinho, Messi and Eto'o yet still was hugely effective until that fall out with Frank Rijkaard during 2007/8 which made his exit all but definite. Few were surprised to see him link up with former Portugal boss Scolari at Chelsea and he was the Brazilian's first signing as Blues boss. Deco is a naturalised Portugese who moved to his adopted country after failing to make the grade at Corinthians in his hometown of Sao Paulo. The same happened at Lisbon giants Benfica, who loaned him to FC Alverca and Salgueiros before catching the eye of FC Porto, where he came under the influence of Jose Mourinho.

At Porto, Deco won three league titles, three domestic cups, the UEFA Cup in 2003 and the Champions League the year after. He was sold to Barcelona after that final victory in Gelsenkirchen in which he scored the second of Porto's three goals in their rout of AS Monaco. He had been expected to join the newly arrived Mourinho at Chelsea but chose the Nou Camp instead.

Having never played for Brazil, he was qualified by his six-year Portugese residency to become a Portugese citizen. There was plenty of opposition to his selection for Portugal, but such is the quality he has displayed since his international debut in 2003 that all such debates have long since subsided. He went some way to ending that talk in his very first game, scoring against Brazil of all teams. Deco was a star at Euro 2004, World Cup 2006 and Euro 2008. He has been a true craque for his adopted country.

Joe Cole Bio

One of the most talented English players in a generation, Cole has become a key player to team he supported as a boy.

He burst onto the scene at West Ham as the much-hyped Messiah of English football, the new Gascoigne and the worst kept secret in football. It is a reputation he has taken some time to deal with, yet he has become a key man for club and country.

Harry Redknapp was undoubtedly behind this as he tried to protect his young player by giving him some substitute appearances during 1998/99 and a few starts during 1999/2000.

He had made his debut for the Hammers as a 65th minute replacement for Eyal Berkovic in a 1-1 home FA Cup draw with Swansea City in January 1999, aged 17.

With West Ham's relegation to the First Division, Cole was sold to balance the books after he made it clear he would not sign a new contract. They had no choice but to accept Chelsea's £6.6million bid in August 2003.

Cole signed a four-year deal to join the Chelsea revolution after scoring 13 goals in 150 games for West Ham.

Part of England's squads for both World Cup 2002 and Euro 2004, it was only under Jose Mourinho that he shed the tag of bit-part player.

After winning the league under Jose Mourinho in 2004/5, he had cemented his place in the England starting line-up, bagging a superb goal against Sweden in the 2006 World Cup as England reached the quarter-finals.

Despite his injury problems during the 2006/7 season he featured in the FA Cup final success over Manchester United, adding to his two Premiership medals, Community Shield and League Cup won with Chelsea.

Niggly injuries again struck during 2007/8, yet he maintained a level of consistency that he has always been criticised for not possessing. Fans voted him their 'Player of the Year' in a season which ended in disappointment in Moscow.

Michael Ballack Bio

German skipper Michael Ballack signed for Chelsea on a free transfer after four seasons with German Champions Bayern Munich.

Although he came on a free, there was the small matter of a reported wage of £120,000-a-week.

But Ballack's impact at Chelsea was negligible and his below par performances were said to be one of the reasons the Blues lost their Premier League crown to Manchester United.

He struggled to adapt to the pace of the English game and to sharing a midfield role with Frank Lampard who clearly outshone the Germany international.

Well known for being a versatile and well-conditioned player, as well as one of the best headers of the ball in world football, Ballack made his name as a classic box-to-box midfielder with Bayer Leverkusen.

Ballack arrived as a real world-class player who can play with either foot. These attributes earned him the German player of the year award on three occasions (2002, 2003, 2005).

Beginning his career in 1995, Ballack was given his first professional contract by Chemnitzer FC, thanks to his impressive performances in the role of central midfield.

Dubbed the 'Little Kaiser' in reference to German legend Franz Beckenbauer, his skills were noticed by decorated German coach Otto Rehhagel and he signed for FC Kaiserslautern in the summer of 1997.

Ballack became a regular in the side over the coming years, and he was fully established as a kep component of the side in 1999, where he made his first international appearance for Germany.

Ballack moved to Bayer Leverkusen for ¬4.8 million, at the age of 22, where he would go on to make his name as one of the best players in Germany.

Making his full breakthrough under coaches Christoph Daum and Klaus Toppmöller, Ballack was given licence to roam and pull the strings in the centre of the pitch. Proving a reliable finisher, he scored 27 goals in 3 seasons at the BayArena and netted a further 9 times in Europe.

His development into one of Europe's best midfielders continued as Leverkusen endured a heartbreaking 2001/02 season, coming second in the Bundesliga again and losing in both the UEFA Champions League final and German Cup final.

He also endured the personal agony of losing the World Cup Final in the same year, although his remarkable season- finishing with 17 league goals from midfield, led to him being voted Germany's Footballer of the Year.

Real Madrid approached the midfielder but he chose to stay in Germany, signing instead for German giants Bayern Munich in a ¬12.9 m deal in 2002.

Ballack was deployed more defensively in the Munich side, but still popped up with 10 goals as Bayern stormed the to Bundesliga title. He also scored twice in the 3-1 German Cup final win against Kaiserslautern.

After a difficult second season, Ballack claimed the midfield role for himself in 2004/05 as Bayern completed another double. In four seasons at Bayern, Ballack won three Bundesliga and German Cup doubles and scored 47 goals in 135 matches.

Between 1998 and 2005, Ballack had notched up 61 goals in his domestic league.

However, in 2006, his relationship with Bayern turned sour. Open criticism from general manager Uli Hoeness did not help matters and Ballack made it clear he was looking for a big move when his contract expired in the summer.

During his final few games, he was jeered throughout the stadium, despite his years of service.

Ballack agreed a transfer to big spending Chelsea in summer 2006, on a Bosman free deal. Reportedly the highest paid Premiership player on £120,000 a week, Ballack iterated his desire to stamp his authority on the English game.

So far, however, he has only managed to stamp on Momo Sissoko and get himself sent off in the Community Shield match against Liverpool.

Despite his settling in period, manager Jose Mourinho is a great admirer of the player, saying: 'For me he's one of the best players in the world. He's very intelligent, tactically very strong and he scores a lot of goals. For me in Europe there's only [England and Chelsea's] Frank Lampard who plays at that level. The two would form a dream pair.'

Scoring his first goal for the club in September 2006, a penalty, Ballack then struggled with a hip injury, limiting his first team chances at the start of the season.

On his return to fitness he still looked a shadow of the player who had carved out a reputation as one of the best midfielders in Europe.

And his first season in England ended in mid-April due to an ankle injury. His only trophy was the League Cup.

Throughout the campaign Ballack was linked with a move away due to his inability to settle, but Mourinho was determined to make it work.

John Terry Bio

John Terry has emerged through the ranks at Chelsea to become the club's talisman and skipper. Sadly for him that talismanic quality escaped him when he missed what would have been the winning penalty when Chelsea lost to Manchester United in the 2008 European Cup Final. He will surely bear that scar for the rest of his days.Chelsea finished the season potless for the first time in four years.

Terry also became captain of the England team under the ill-starred Steve McClaren regime.

Commanding in the air, confident on the ball and a constant danger coming up from the back for set-pieces, the Chelsea captain has become the rock around which the club's success has been built.

In 2004/05 the Blues set a Premier League record for clean sheets and the fewest goals conceded, a measure of his influence and organisation skills.

That same season he was named the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year.

Terry made his Chelsea debut in October 1998, replacing Dan Petrescu for the final few minutes of the 4-1 League Cup victory over Aston Villa.

Though he only made fleeting appearances in that 1998/99 season he did enough to win the club's Young Player of the Year award.

Terry was loaned to Nottingham Forest in March 2000 to build up his first team experience, turning out six times at the end of the season.

Within a year, then-manager Claudio Ranieri had enough confidence in the player to put him in the team when Frank Leboeuf was injured.

And when the French World Cup winner returned to fitness, he couldn't get back in the team. Terry had done what so few English youngsters had managed at the Bridge and established himself in the team alongside the global stars.

In 2003, he made his belated senior debut as sub against Serbia & Montenegro.

He then made his full senior debut in the 3-1 friendly victory over Croatia at Portman Road in August 2003.

He was named in England's squad for Euro 2004, but a hamstring injury cruelly robbed him of a place in the big opening clash with France. He returned to play in the remaining three fixtures but clearly was not fully fit.

After a fine start to 2004/05 he was handed a new, improved contract to run until the summer of 2009.

And his performances earned him the PFA award and the admiration of fans across the country.

He was also named the 2005 PFA Players' Player of the Year.

Terry was awarded the captaincy of the England team in the summer of 2006 after new coach Steve McClaren had opted to oust David Beckham. Terry earned the job just ahead of Steven Gerrard.

The player's importance to Chelsea was obvious in 2006/07 as they struggled desperately without him after the festive period. A Chelsea team which rarely conceded had now begun to leak goals.

Predictably, the situation improved once he was back in the side.

Terry was announced as Fabio Capello's England captain in August 2007, fighting off a strong challenge from Rio Ferdinand.

Paulo Ferreira Bio

Paulo Ferreira was initially signed as right-back by Chelsea in the summer of 2004 yet he has never settled into that position during his time at the Bridge.

The player began his career with Estoril, before moving to Vittoria Setubal in 2000 and then FC Porto in 2002.

Ferreira impressed greatly as Porto won the treble of UEFA Cup, Portuguese title and cup in 2002/03. And he was also a vital figure in the surprise 2003/04 Champions League success.

After being a regular in the Portugal Under-21 side, he made his full debut in September 2002 against England.

But he suffered a poor Euro 2004 with Portugal, gifting the opening goal of the tournament to Giorgos Karagounis as Greece shocked the hosts 2-1. He was then dropped and did not feature again in the tournament until coming on against Greece in the final defeat.

Ferreira then followed FC Porto coach Jose Mourinho to Chelsea for a fee of £13.3million.

Ferreira was the first player Mourinho signed for the right-back role and he had a steady, if not spectacular, first season in the Premiership as Chelsea won the title along with the Carling Cup.

But since then Ferreira has failed to win a regular place at his prescribed role, featuring on the left and even in the centre of the Blues' defence. His versatility was rewarded when he signed a five-year extension to stay at Chelsea until 2013.

Alex Bio

A forceful centre-back who usually plays second fiddle to John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, Alex joined Chelsea from PSV Eindhoven after what was essentially a three-year loan at the Dutch club. After earning his spurs at Santos in Brazil, he was signed by Chelsea in 2004 on the recommendation of famed PSV and Chelsea scout Piet de Visser, but because of potential problems in attaining a work permit, he was loaned out to PSV. That period gave him time to play enough for his country and be resident in the EU so that Chelsea could sign him for the 2007/8 season and pay their 1 euro buy-out clause for the player.

At PSV he starred as the best defender in the Eredivisie as they won three straight titles and reached the semi-final of the Champions League in 2005. He also scored the goal that knocked Arsenal out of the same tournament in his last season at the Phillips Stadium.

He had looked set to join Chelsea earlier, when a defensive crisis during 2006/7 saw chief scout Frank Arnesen urge Jose Mourinho to get the Brazilian in early. Mystifyingly, Mourinho chose to bring in Khalid Boulahrouz instead.

When he finally got to the Bridge he had little to time to work with Mourinho as the coach was sacked just six weeks into the 2007/8 season. Injuries to Carvalho and Terry meant he played a full part in Chelsea's season and he rarely let down his new-ish club where his power and usefulness at set pieces became an asset to the Blues.

A Brazilian international, he was a member of the team that lifted the 2007 Copa America.

Ashley Cole Bio

Few could term Ashley Cole as a popular player yet his playing ability should not be in doubt.

A tabloid lifestyle and the 'will he, won't he' speculation over his future during much of 2005 and 2006 alienated fans of previous club Arsenal, though they did get William Gallas in exchange plus £5m.

Cole had progressed from the Gunners youth ranks to become regarded as one of the best left-backs in the world.

But his reputation was severely tarnished in January 2005 when tabloid newspapers revealed he had met with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon and manager Jose Mourinho to, allegedly at least, discuss a transfer to Stamford Bridge.

Cole, Chelsea and Mourinho were all fined by the Football Association for their part in the sordid tale.

Chelsea's sale of Asier Del Horno in summer 2006 eventually sped up the expected move, with Arsene Wenger keen to sign the versatile Gallas. The move to Chelsea was inevitable given the furore surrounding Cole's impending autobiography.

Cole, who made his professional debut in a loan spell at Crystal Palace, has class, poise and a great eye for attacking options and is a calm, effective defender.

He came through the ranks at Highbury's Centre of Excellence.

An injury to Brazilian left-back Silvinho during the 2000/01 season gave Cole the opportunity of an extended run in Arsene Wenger's first team and the youngster did not fail his manager.

His excellent performances caught the eye of England manager Sven Goran Eriksson who included Cole in his first England squad in February 2001.

Cole made his England debut in a World Cup qualifying match against Albania in March 2001.

The Stepney-born star was a member of the England squad at the 2002 World Cup finals, starting all of his country's games before they went out to Brazil in the quarter-finals.

As well as winning the double in 2001/2, he helped Arsenal regain their Premiership crown in a season where they didn't lose a single Premiership match.

But Cole found his 2005/06 campaign ruined by the now infamous metatarsal injury and also sued both the News of the World and The Sun over insinuations over his sexuality - despite the fact he was due to marry Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy.

It had looked in summer 2006 as though the player would be marooned at Arsenal until a last ditch deal saw him swap clubs with Gallas.

If football fans had not been offended by Cole's conduct in meeting with Chelsea his autobiography made them physically sick. He moaned about being offered 'only' £55,000-a-week, and about the lack of respect from Arsenal fans despite the fact he had actively looked to engineer a move to a rival club.

He made his Chelsea debut in a 2-1 home victory over Charlton Athletic to begin a spell at the Bridge which is yet to hit the heights of Highbury, through injury, loss of form and further tabloid scandal.

Ricardo Carvalho Bio

Since arriving at Chelsea in 2004, Carvalho has become considered to be one of the best defenders in the Premership. While John Terry is captain, many see Carvalho as the best defender at Chelsea and it was a relief to many when the arrival of Luiz Felipe Scolari saw him commit his future to the Blues. He had looked set to join up with Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan during the close-season of 2008.

He began his professional career in 1997, spending two seasons with Leca before joining Porto as a teenager.

Carvalho was given a chance to shine in 2001/02 by Jorge Costa's loan move to Charlton Athletic.

Then, in 2002/03, he played a key role as Porto, guided by Mourinho, won the UEFA Cup, Portuguese title and the domestic cup.

He was handed his international debut in October 2003 as a second-half substitute in 5-3 friendly win over Albania.

Carvalho was again a first-team fixture in 2003/04 as Porto finished the season as champions of Europe, beating Monaco 3-0 in the Champions League final in Gelsenkirchen and retaining the Portuguese league title.

Carvalho was subsequently named in UEFA's All-Star Squad of the Euro 2004 tournament.

Within a matter of weeks he would be reunited with former Porto coach Mourinho at Chelsea.

Chelsea moved in to sign Portuguese international defender Ricardo Carvalho for a fee of £19.85million, signing a three-year contract at Stamford Bridge.

He made his Blues debut as a substitute in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.

Carvalho signed a new contract with Chelsea in May 2007 having helped Chelsea to two Premiership titles and two League Cups.