The two newest recruits at Stamford Bridge, Damien Duff (£17m) and Wayne Bridge (£7m) joined the rest of the Chelsea squad today and Ranieri has promised several more signings before the season starts.
Newcastle chairman Freddie Shepherd moved today to end speculation that England midfielder Kieron Dyer would be the next big-money arrival at Chelsea.
Shepherd said: "Kieron Dyer is not for sale. Every player has his price but we don't want to sell him and Chelsea don't have enough 'roubles' to buy him."
Chelsea chairman Ken Bates, who confirmed that his chairman's role remains unchanged, defended the club's new policy when he said: "We haven't spent that much. Up to now we've bought four players for a total of £ 34million which is only £4million more than Manchester United spent on Rio Ferdinand.
"Last season, Claudio Ranieri didn't spend a penny and we improved from sixth to fourth place in the Premiership. Every chairman wants to win everything but realistically the ambition must be to improve again from last season." Bates would not speculate on the probability of more Chelsea signings but admitted: "Because of players relased at the end of last season we're a bit thin in certain areas."
The Chelsea chairman did not believe that his side's new mega-budget will put increased pressure on Ranieri, however.
"Claudio Ranieri has a proven track record, both at Chelsea and before," he said.
Duff and Bridge were due to train with their new Chelsea team-mates for the first time today and could be involved when Ranieri's team meet the Malaysia national team on Friday.
Birmingham take on Newcastle in tomorrow's opening match of the competition.
