Chelsea in £30m Joaquin bid

Chelsea have made a massive offer for Real Betis' highly rated winger Joaquin, according to the Spanish club's president, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.

Chelsea have made a massive offer for Real Betis' highly rated winger Joaquin, according to the Spanish club's president, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.

"It's correct, there is an offer from Chelsea," Lopera said yesterday. "Up until now we've been saying no, but there might just come a time when we say yes and accept it."

The Spanish media reported that the bid was as high as £30m, but all that Lopera would confirm was that it was "a revolutionary figure" and that he may be tempted to accept the offer for the most emblematic player at the club. "Deportivo La Coruña had to sell their leading scorer, Roy Makaay [to Bayern Munich], Real Madrid had to sell [Claude] Makelele to Chelsea," he said. "No one should forget that it does happen in football."

The 23-year-old right-sided winger, considered to be one of the brightest prospects in Spain, has spent his career at the Andalucian club, but has made no secret of the fact that he would like to move to a bigger club. The Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, is known to be a big fan.

Jesper Gronkjaer is on the verge of leaving Birmingham City after the team accepted a £1.4m bid for him from Atletico Madrid.

Atletico have offered Gronkjaer a two-and-a-half-year deal and the 27-year-old could make his debut against Real Madrid on 9 January. The transfer window prevents players from moving before January, meaning that Gronkjaer will have to wait before officially completing his switch.