With four days gone after Chelsea's initial bid for Robinho, things have gone quiet on the that front; I feel Madrid have quoted a ridiculous fee, signaling their intention to keep him and we've walked away. Robinho and his agent still maintain that he is interested in a move away from the Bernabéu. Maybe Madrid had no other options left with Ronaldo still at Manchester and Sneijder injured, courtesy Arsenal.

Another interesting transfer rumor that has been in the news columns lately is about Chelsea signing Kaka. Kaka would be an excellent signing for any other club. But for Chelsea with an already surplus midfield, spending above 60 million for Kaka, who had his share of injuries in recent times with his knee, would not be a good idea. And where would he fit in? It would be an added pressure on Scolari to accommodate him in the midfield. But chances are that there is no truth in the rumor, and Milan may hold on to their decision that Kaka is not for sale, even though reports say Kaka's desire to play Champions League football next year might fuel a move away from Milan.

Milan is increasingly linked with another transfer speculation though; the signing of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. Milan's Dario Simic has joined Monaco, and that points to the fact that Ivanovic might be a done deal. But having sold Ben-Haim and with just Alex as back-up for the central defense, the plan to sell Ivanovic and cut losses, defies logic. And unlike last year, Ivanovic may get enough playing chances because Scolari did experiment with the youngster in pre-season friendlies.

Malouda has announced his intentions to fight for a place in the squad, according to timesonline. By doing so, the French winger has closed the possibility of a move to Roma, who were interested in signing the struggling winger. Hull City are looking for a loan deal to get chelsea striker Pizzaro, which would be a good deal because that would atleast give some playing chances for the Peru captain. As if these transfer speculations are not enough for us, Martin O'Neil and Benitez both are reportedly interested in signing Joe Cole!

Even though he's quiet in the transfer market so far, Sir Alex makes his presence known to the media by constantly trying to get into a verbal duel with Big Phil. With Ronaldo locked away safely from the reach of Ramón Calderón, the wily old manager has focused his attention back on "aging Chelsea". This time, Fergie compares Blues' to the Liverpool side that fell into steep decline after the title triumph of 1990. He seems to be very imaginative with every dig at Chelsea, and is more concerned about it than the injury troubles with his team or his failure again to capture the gifted Bulgarian striker.

There's good news as well for us before the season opener on Saturday. Bosingwa returned early to training following the thigh injury sustained on the club's pre-season tour of Asia. He took full part in the training session, and Scolari is optimistic that he will be able to make his debut against the Pompeys.

It feels good to post an article, after a gap of four days, and it feels great to think that the Premier League will start in another four days time. So do follow Living True Blue to get all the latest Chelsea news, match previews as well as post-match reviews. If you haven't subscribed, please subscribe.

 

"Further to media reports, Chelsea Football Club can confirm we have made an offer to Real Madrid today (Thursday, August 7) for the transfer of Robinho." The Official Chelsea site made this announcement yesterday confirming that Chelsea has bid for Real Madrid winger Robinho. The possibility of Robinho arriving at the Bridge seemed less likely after Ronaldo decided to stay in Manchester and Sneijder got injured. But the confirmation by the Official site that a bid for Robinho has been made, adds another twist to the summer-long story.

Sky Sports News says that Chelsea have lodged a £19.7million bid for Real Madrid forward Robinho.Earlier this week, Kenyon had openly expressed the desire of the Club to sign the Brazilian winger. And Robinho, when asked about it, had refused to rule out the move. This could be Chelsea's last bid this summer and if the bid proves to be successful, we would see Samba magic at the Bridge soon.

 Chelsea are understood to be thinking about an offer from Roma for their winger Florent Malouda, who has failed to make an impact after arriving from Lyon last summer for £13.5m  Roma need to replace Mancini, who was sold to Inter, and was at first interested in a loan deal for Malouda. If the Robinho bid succeeds, Malouda may find himself in the Italian capital next season. Meanwhile the Pompeys from south coast are still said to be interested in Wright-Phillips and Redknapp believes Wright-Phillips would be another expensive buy like Crouch.

Moving onto other news, the Blues, back in London after thrashing the Rossoneri, have started the training sessions as scheduled. And one guy who is missing the party is Salamon Kalou. Kalou is in the Olympic squad of Ivory Coast, who lost their first group game in the Olympics as Argentina secured a 2-1 win. Ivory Coast will go into their next game against Serbia on Sunday with no points.

The article was originally published in Living True Blue. (subscribe)