Branislav Ivanovic has been offered new contract

CHELSEA have opened talks with Serb defender Branislav Ivanovic over a new long-term contract worth £60,000 a week.

Ivanovic, 26, has emerged as one of the key members of the Blues this season as the reigning champions have stormed to the top of the Premier League.
But he is also one of the lowest-paid members of Carlo Ancelotti's squad on £40,000 a week.
Now Chelsea are keen to reward his consistent performances by handing him a 50 per cent rise and pushing his salary to £3million a year.
Chief executive Ron Gourlay has slashed the club's annual wage bill by more than £20m this year after releasing big-earners Michael Ballack, Deco, Joe Cole, Ricardo Carvalho and Juliano Belletti.
He is under pressure to report an annual profit for the first time since Roman Abramovich bought the club seven years ago in order to meet UEFA's financial fair-play rules.
But Gourlay also sees the need to recognise Ivanovic's increased value to the squad since his £8.9m move from Lokomotiv Moscow in January 2008.
Ivanovic's current deal runs out in 2012 and Chelsea are keen to extend his stay to 2014.
But even the £60,000-a-week offer would leave the Serbian international on less than HALF the annual salary of top-earners John Terry and Frank Lampard.
Meanwhile, Brazil midfielder Ramires has insisted he feels under more pressure at Chelsea than at any other point in his club career. The 23-year-old has been impressive since boss Ancelotti signed him from Benfica in the summer.
But the constant scrutiny at the champions is a huge step up from what he encountered at the Portuguese side and Brazil's Cruzeiro before that.
Ramires said: "At Cruzeiro and Benfica, there was also huge pressure to get results.
"The difference at Chelsea is that the level of visibility is so much greater.
"That means you're singled out more when you play badly and there's more hype when you play well."
Some foreign players find it difficult to adapt to the speed and physicality of the top flight but Ramires reckons he has almost cracked it already.

He added: "I've always liked a tackle, so that's why I'm not finding it very hard to adapt.
"I'm already getting used to the speed of the game here.
"All I need to do now is to keep working hard to earn my spot in the side and help the team stay as successful as they've been in recent years."
An injury to England midfield star Lampard two months ago gave Ramires his big chance at Stamford Bridge. He said: "I've played a few times as a box-to-box midfielder, which is my original position and the same one I play for Brazil.
"It's not hard for me to play anywhere in midfield and I'll play wherever coach Carlo Ancelotti thinks works best for the team.
"I've never played in a country with a different language before, which makes things a bit trickier, but I'm taking English classes and hope to get a handle on it soon.
"The Chelsea players couldn't have welcomed me any better and the club provides me with everything I need."