Not content with having a team capable of winning the Champions League, bar any slipups, Big Phil Scolario seems obsessed with filling his Chelsea squad with members of the national teams that gave him his reputation.
Having inherited Alex, Belletti, Ricardo Carvalho, Henrique Hilário and Paulo Ferreira, Scolari has set about signing Deco and allegedly had a hand in bringing Porto right-back Jose Bosingwa to Stamford Bridge. Now it has been revealed that another one of Scolari’s international ‘students’ is in talks to head to Fulham Road.
Real Madrid striker Robinho is reported to be in contact with Scolari’s Chelsea over a £25million move. How credible this claim is depends on your stance on agents, with Robinho’s agent Wagner Riberio leading the claim in Spanish paper AS:
It’s true that Chelsea are interested in signing Robinho. They have been after him for a while and there has been much more contact since Scolari became the new coach.
I met with [Chelsea director, Frank] Arnesen in London and he confirmed to me that Chelsea wanted my player for next season.
The move apparently depends on Real’s outcome in the Cristiano Ronaldo saga. If Ronaldo arrives at the Santiago Bernabéu, Los Blancos will let Robinho move to Chelsea.
It can also be seen as a way of making Real sweat on Robinho’s contract talks. The agent was again in the press this week saying that Real do not value his player high enough and the club stalling in contract negotiations demonstrates this:
Robinho’s priority is to continue at Real Madrid. But he cannot stay in a place in which they don’t recognise his talent and at the moment Real Madrid are not doing that and I’m not talking about money
We don’t like this attitude and we want Madrid to start valuing Robinho because at the moment they’re not.
Whether or not Robinho will arrive at Stamford Bridge remains to be seen, but regardless of the outcome, the agent will have his nice slice of the pie.