Roman Abramovich has identified David Moyes as the ideal man to take over at Stamford Bridge in the summer, while the Blues have seen a bid for Jack Butland accepted by Birmingham City.

Interim manager Rafa Benitez is not expected to remain as manager once the season ends, with the Chelsea fans continuing to vent their ire towards the Spaniard, while the inconsistent form of the team has not helped matters either.

"If I can see my players in training without conviction, I will be worried," Benitez said when asked about the continued negative reaction towards him from the Blues faithful.

"Today, I was talking with one or two senior players, explaining and agreeing the way we are doing things is right or if we have to change this or that.

"We are working with the players every day, and they're happy.

"We cannot control the perception from outside, but I can influence the players, explain things and analyze things."

With Abramovich's No. 1 candidate Pep Guardiola deciding to take the job at Bayern Munich, the Russian billionaire owner has been left with only a few choices.

While the return of Jose Mourinho is still likely, Abramovich is ready to give the top job to a British manager for the first time, according to the Daily Mail.

Moyes has done a remarkable job for Everton in ten years at the job, keeping them at the top half of the table and competing for places in Europe, despite an extremely limited budget.

The Scot has also been tipped to take over at Manchester United once Sir Alex Ferguson retires, and it will be interesting to see if he will be tempted to take on the Chelsea job, given Abramovich's penchant to fire and hire managers in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, the Blues have moved one step closer to signing goalkeeper Butland, after Birmingham accepted a £3.5 million bid.

Chelsea were thought to be considering a bid for Butland and have now moved up the ladder, with the 19-year-old's agent Gary Mellor confirming the Blues had been given permission to talk to the young goalkeeper.

"Chelsea have been given permission to speak to Jack," Mellor told The Sun. "At this moment they are the only club who have registered a bid."

The Blues already have Petr Cech, and also have Thibaut Courtois in their ranks, with the young Belgian goalkeeper, who is currently on loan at Atletico Madrid, tipped for a bright future.

Courtois has been courted by Atletico in view to a permanent transfer, while the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona have also been linked with a move.