Real Make £23m Bid for Robben

Real Madrid's long-standing interest in Arjen Robben has finally prompted a firm bid for the Dutch international winger, with the Spanish club hoping to secure his arrival at the Bernabéu in a deal that would eventually be worth €35m (£23.6m).

Chelsea, preparing for tomorrow's Community Shield against Manchester United, insisted last night that Robben still had a future at Stamford Bridge and they expect the 23-year-old to be fit enough to feature on the bench at Wembley. However, Real have followed up a month of posturing by offering five installments of €7m, to be made over the course of his contract, which they hope will secure the signing.

The Real president, Ramón Calderón, insisted yesterday that the club would announce "two or three signings in the next few days", one of which he hopes will be Robben. "The player wants to play for Real Madrid and everything indicates that his dream will be fulfilled," said Calderón, who made the signing of Robben one of his electoral promises. "He is a great player and when he arrives the sceptics won't see so many black clouds on the horizon."

Chelsea have offered Robben, whose current deal is due to expire in 2009, a new five-year contract to remain at Stamford Bridge, including improved terms on his current £60,000-a-week wage. However, Robben's father and agent, Hans, indicated last week that the money offered by Chelsea did not yet meet his client's expectations and negotiations had stalled.

Regardless, the Chelsea assistant manager, Steve Clarke, said he expected Robben to be at the club when the season starts next week. It remains to be seen whether his team-mate Lassana Diarra, who has attracted interest from Arsenal, will be, too. "You can never say never," Clarke said. "The window's open and some players might want to move on, others want to say. But I don't expect to see any significant changes in our squad."