Ancelotti has faith in young guns

[shan_han]

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti insists he does not need to sign a new striker in January and is happy to put his faith in the rookie members of his squad.

Ancelotti will lose Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou to the African Cup of Nations, with the strike duo expected to link up with Ivory Coast after the Boxing Day game against Birmingham City.

The Blues' other senior front man Nicolas Anelka has been ruled out of the Birmingham fixture, and Monday's derby with Fulham, due to a calf injury, leaving Ancelotti with just Daniel Sturridge and Fabio Borini.

Neither player has yet to score for the club, but Ancelotti is happy to give the youngsters a chance in the absence of key players, rather than plunge into the transfer market.
Good solutions

"We will still have 11 against Fulham," said Ancelotti. "If Didier is not here, we can put in other players.

"Sturridge has an opportunity to show his qualities. He played against West Ham very well in that second half and, maybe, against Birmingham he can play from the beginning.

"I didn't ask owner Roman (Abramovich) for new players and he has not asked me if I want them.

"I have a lot of confidence in my strikers. Not only Drogba, not only Kalou, not only Anelka. Also Sturridge and Borini.

"Against Fulham, maybe we'll only have Sturridge and Borini. But in January, we'll have Anelka.

"I think that we have good solutions internally. We don't need new players in this moment.

"Anelka has a little injury, a muscle problem. It's a small problem, but he's not ready to play in these games."