Chelsea senior players want club owner Roman Abramovich to splash out in the summer market. The London Evening Standard says Chelsea's senior players want owner Roman Abramovich to make some big signings in the summer to ensure they don't become a fading force in the Premier League and in Europe.

Abramovich regularly talks to some of the leaders in the dressing room to get their views on team matters and has done so again, while he also asked Carlo Ancelotti at the meeting yesterday what he requires to make Chelsea provide a stronger challenge for the Champions League next season.

Speaking recently, midfielder Frank Lampard admitted: "The Chelsea fans I speak to always say we have a great team but just need someone who is a bit different and has a bit of magic.

"There are many players to choose from but I'd love Chelsea to sign Lionel Messi. He's probably ungettable. But when talking about that type of player, Messi is the epitome of that for me in football, the things he can do on his own basically.

"In terms of players that are available, I don't know, although we have been mentioned with Ribery. It's hard to talk about players at other clubs.

"But the type we want is that inspirational player, so when we are having a bad day and you can't make much happen as a team, he dribbles past three or four players and puts it into the top corner."