Chelsea's £21m bid for Real Madrid's Robinho is £5m short

Chelsa last night made a formal £21million bid to land Real Madrid striker Robinho - but they will need to pay at least £5m more to get their man.

New Blues boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has earmarked the Brazialian, 24, as the final piece in his jigsaw for the new season.

While Real are willing to let Robino go despite failing to land Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, their asking price is much higher.

Real, who spent £9m to take Rafael van der Vaart from Hamburg, value Robinho at around £30m - although there is room for negotiation.

Last night's official approach by Stamford Bridge chief executive Peter Kenyon was the opening salvo in an all-out assault to land the player.

With the Chelsea hierarchy keen to give Scolari what he wants, a deal could be done in days.

Check out Mirror.co.uk's 10 Things you need to know about Robinho.

For transfer stories and rumours throughout the day, check out our Football Spy blog

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