Milan’s players do not want Andriy Shevchenko back, so the race for Thierry Henry is back on, according to reports.

President Silvio Berlusconi has long been sponsoring the return of Sheva from Chelsea and this week said the likelihood of this being achieved was “at 80 per cent.”

However, newspaper ‘Il Giornale’ claims this morning that both Coach Carlo Ancelotti and the squad are unhappy with the idea.

Above all Paolo Maldini, Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf do not believe he should be welcomed back with open arms so soon after demanding a transfer to Stamford Bridge.

There are also issues over the price-tag, as Chelsea demand no less than £20m – which would already be a £10m loss on the money they paid only 12 months ago – but the Rossoneri won’t go above £6.7m for a one or two-year loan deal.

With Samuel Eto’o eager to stay at Barcelona – or join rivals Inter – Milan are instead turning their attention back to Arsenal’s want-away star Henry.

Reports of a deal with Barcelona have been denied by all the parties involved, so the Frenchman is still on the market.

Coach Ancelotti namechecked Henry as “one of the players we are very interested in” and he could be convinced by the opportunity to play alongside Ronaldo and Kaka.

Meanwhile, ‘Il Giornale’ also states that the negotiations for Edmilson have been abandoned so that Yoann Gourcuff can be given more space in midfield next season.