CHELSEA £23m FOR ROBINHO

CHELSEA have made a new £23.6million bid for Real Madrid’s Brazil star Robinho.

It’s almost £5m more than their last offer and will sorely tempt the Spanish giants, despite the fact president Ramon Calderon wants to keep him.

But Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari is keen to capture his countryman and will be backed all the way by Roman Abramovich’s billions.

Scolari believes Robinho will add a different dimension to his squad and provide Abramovich with the fantasy football the Chelsea owner demands.

The bid falls well short of Madrid’s £35m asking price but Chelsea insist they will not pay anywhere near that figure.

They know the Spaniards are anxious to raise cash for their next attempt to land Cristiano Ronaldo.

And the Stamford Bridge club claim Robinho is desperate to join them rather than stay at the Bernebeu.

As far as Chelsea are concerned, he and his agent have made positive noises about quitting Spain for the Premier League and they will certainly not give up. The gulf between the two clubs could mean this deal goes to the transfer deadline wire of August 31.

Chelsea are ready to play a waiting game and his wages of close to £90,000 a week will certainly not daunt Abramovich.

Meanwhile, Blues chiefs have knocked back Michael Essien’s request to change shirt numbers.

The Ghana international hoped to switch from his current No 5 shirt to the No 4 jersey vacated by Claude Makelele, who recently signed for Paris St Germain.

But Essien’s No 5 shirt has proved one of the most popular items in the club shop over the summer.

Chelsea did not want to disappoint fans who had splashed out on the new kit with Essien’s name and number emblazoned on it.