Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that he wanted to sign Robert Lewandowski for Chelsea when he was manager of the Blues.

The Italian was in charge at Stamford Bridge for two seasons from 2009 to 2011, winning the Premier League and FA Cup double in his first campaign at the helm, before being sacked following a trophyless second season.

Chelsea spent £50m on Fernando Torres while Ancelotti was in charge, but the 56-year-old has admitted that he was looking at Lewandowski when he was a Borussia Dortmund player.

"He's a player that I have always followed, particularly in the first part of his career, when he was at Borussia Dortmund," Ancelotti told Goal.com.

"Lewandowski was being followed by many clubs, not just me. But even when I was at Chelsea, I was tracking him. Also, while I was at [Real] Madrid, but by then he was already going to Bayern, so it was too late."

Lewandowski has has scored 16 goals in 11 appearances for Bayern Munich so far this season.