Manchester City have confirmed the signing of centre-back John Stones from Everton on a six-year deal.
The England international has been on Pep Guardiola’s list of summer targets since his arrival at the club and the Catalan now has his man.
The former Chelsea manager admits that he wants to return to English football but will not take on a managerial role before the start of next season
Carlo Ancelotti has admitted he would love to return to the Premier League next season.
The Italian, who was sacked by Real Madrid at the end of the 2014-15 campaign, spent two years in charge of Chelsea between 2009 and 2011.
With his former club languishing in 16th place under Jose Mourinho this term, Ancelotti has been linked with a possible return to Stamford Bridge.
But while the 56-year-old claimed that he is eyeing a move back to England, he insisted that he would not take a job this season.
“I had a fantastic experience in France and Spain,” Ancelotti told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“The most important thing is to start; to find a club with a good project and be competitive. If it’s in England, it’s better.
“I will stay out until the end of the season and try to find another club next season.
“Not just in England, it can be in another country, but my idea is not to start now.”
Ancelotti, who won the Premier League title with Chelsea in 2010, was also supportive of Mourinho, who he labelled the “best person” for the job.
The Blues have won just three of their 12 top-flight games so far this year, but the former Milan and Paris Saint-Germain coach backed the Portuguese to turn things around.
“Chelsea are used to competing at the top level. They have lost a little bit of confidence in their play and arrived at bad results. Slowly they can move on from this situation.
“Mourinho is the best person to manage this because he is the one involved, he knows the situation and the condition of the players and the club took the right decision to stay with Mourinho.”
The Arsenal manager believes a winter break in English football is important, but would only support its introduction if it came after the traditional festive fixtures
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has joked that he would “cry” if there was no football at Christmas.
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal recently claimed that the packed festive schedule and lack of winter break in the English game was “evil”.
And while Wenger supports the introduction of a mid-season pause, he insists it should only take place after the customary December fixtures.
“I have a lot of respect for Louis van Gaal but I don’t agree with him on that,” Wenger said.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve been in England for such a long time. I had his ideas when I arrived here but today I would cry if you changed that because it’s part of English tradition and English football.
“To suppress the game on Boxing Day, the whole of Europe comes to England to watch the game. It’s a very important part of us being popular in the world, that nobody works at Christmas and everybody watches the Premier League.
“I want to go on with it,” he said. “I always pleaded for a break after January 1, but we have to keep this tradition alive.”
