Chelsea want Villa striker Heskey and Manchester City chase Inter veteran Vieira in January sales

By Mark Ryan and Alex Montgomery

Up for it: Emile Heskey is ready to leave Villa because he fears losing his England place


Chelsea and Manchester City are ready to kick open the January transfer window by making surprise bids for Emile Heskey and Patrick Vieira.

With star striker Didier Drogba away for four weeks at the Africa Cup of Nations, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is in need of an urgent replacement to keep his Premier League title bid on track.

And with an offer of about £4million believed to be ready, England striker Heskey could be on his way from Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge within days.

Ancelotti's fellow Italian, the Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, is keen to renew his relationship with Vieira, whom he coached at Inter Milan to two Serie A titles. Vieira, who will be 34 in June, is desperate to play for France at the World Cup and is still highly sought-after, having been linked with moves back to the Premier League with Tottenham and his former club, Arsenal.

But sources in Italy revealed last night that it is Mancini who is closest to clinching the Frenchman's return to England, initially in a loan deal.


Second chance: Emile Heskey may be given the opportunity to rejoin Liverpool


Mancini signed Vieira at Inter from Juventus in 2006 for £8m, creating a winning partnership until the manager was sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho, who has used the midfielder sparingly.

Mancini has already been linked with many players as he prepares to make an impact in the transfer market backed by City's Arab owner. Chelsea have also been interested in a marquee signing, with Argentina striker Sergio Aguero and Bayern Munich's Frenchman Franck Ribery targets at more than £40m each.

But the prosaic talents of Heskey, 32 in eight days' time, are attractive because of the way he can replace Drogba's muscular play.

Heskey is thought to be prepared to leave Villa because he fears losing his England place due to a lack of first-team action.

Liverpool, Sunderland and Wigan are also in the running for his signature and Villa boss Martin O'Neill refused to deny Heskey's exit could be imminent, saying: 'I'll not impart that information. I don't really want to sell players but I don't have a clue what might happen in January at this stage.'

source: dailymail