Inter begin talks to sign Lampard

The Italian outfit, who are now managed by former Blues boss Jose Mourinho, are believed to have sent a fax to Stamford Bridge in order to start discussions designed to prise Lampard away from London.

Inter's approach comes as a surprise given that, only last month, Mourinho said that he did not expect to sign Lampard this summer.

The ex-West Ham star is into the final year of his Chelsea contract and he is yet to commit his future to the club.

Sources suggested that the opening offer from Inter was £6.5 million.

A possible reason for Lampard wanting to leave Chelsea is the arrival of Brazilian-born Portugal international Deco, who plays in a similiar position to the England man and is a known favourite of new boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Inter are also believed to want to sign Didier Drogba as well, although they may face stiff competition from rivals AC Milan, who are still keen to sign Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

The club's technical director Leonardo said on Monday that he was not ruling out bids for either player.

He said: "It's no secret we're interested in signing a forward and are studying candidates.

"Drogba is a fine player and Adebayor is a player I really like. We are waiting for the right time to move."

Meanwhile, Leonardo reiterated that there is "no possibility" of Chelsea signing Kaka after the Stamford Bridge club were reported to be interested in the Brazilian.

"I can only repeat what we keep saying. There is no possibility of Kaka moving away from Milan," Leonardo said.

"We have not received an official bid for him. He is very close to AC Milan and has a very, very good relationship with the club."

Cristiano Ronaldo underwent a successful operation on his right ankle on Monday.

The Portuguese winger had a procedure carried out by a Dutch surgeon, but Manchester United say that they won't know when he will be fit again until he is seen by the specialist in a month. It is likely that he will be out for at least six weeks and miss the start of the new season.

United said in a statement: "Cristiano Ronaldo underwent surgery today to his right ankle.

"The operation was performed by Professor C Niek van Dijk at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam and the initial indications are that the procedure was successful.

"Cristiano will begin his convalescence under the direction of club medical staff and an estimation of his return to full fitness will be possible following review by the specialist in one month."