Premier League leaders Chelsea expect to sign unsettled Brazilian forward Robinho from Real Madrid in the next 48 hours, chief executive Peter Kenyon said on Wednesday. "We are ever confident that it (the transfer) will get done but I think we have always said it will go to the wire," Kenyon told Sky Sports News.
"We will keep moving it along and we would hope that he will be coming to join us at Chelsea." The 24-year-old has been a target for the London club and new Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari for much of the close season.
Robinho, whose contract with Real runs to 2010 and includes a buy-out clause of 150 million euros ($220.6 million), said last week that he was determined to join Chelsea and asked the Spanish club's directors to negotiate with them. British newspapers have put a fee of up to 36 million euros ($52.95 million) on the deal.
The Guardian newspaper quoted Robinho's agent Wagner Ribeiro as saying an agreement was in sight, with the transfer window closing on Monday. "A deal is about to be reached," said Ribeiro. "Robinho's time in Spain has come to an end. He is looking forward to being part of a new project."
Kenyon said Robinho and Brazilian-born Portuguese playmaker Deco, who joined from Barcelona in June, had always been top of the manager's shopping list. "There were two players that he really identified. One was Deco and one was Robinho," said Kenyon.
"I think we've already seen the impact that Deco has made on the Premier League and we've certainly seen the impact he has made with us. Robinho, who joined Real from Brazilian club Santos for $30 million in 2005 after a lengthy tug-of-war, sat out Sunday's Spanish Super Cup victory over Valencia. "I've finished my cycle," he said last week. "I've played three seasons at Real Madrid and have given everything. I have scored goals, won two leagues and that isn't easy. I think my period at Real Madrid has come to an end.
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