David Beckham, the England captain, would like a summer move to Chelsea. His representatives have contacted the London club suggesting that a transfer back to England from Real Madrid would suit him.

I understand people close to Beckham have been in touch with officials at Stamford Bridge and this would certainly be welcomed by Chelsea. At this stage everything is tentative and both sides are talking on the basis of deniability should things not work out. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon oversaw the rise of Beckham at Manchester United when he was chief executive at Old Trafford.

Chelsea would be prepared to pay a fee of between £ 20 million and £ 25 million, although given the fact that their owner, the Russian business tycoon Roman Abramovich, tops the Sunday Times Rich List of this country with a wealth estimated at £ 7.5 billion, Chelsea could be prepared to pay more, maybe up to £ 30 million in a structured package.

No definite moves on the transfer are expected until after the finish of Euro 2004 in the first week of July. However, Chelsea will want to finalise their squad before July 24 when they start a series of matches in the United States, playing teams such as Celtic, AC Milan and Roma.

Chelsea have clearly monitored Beckham’s progress at Real Madrid and the view at Stamford Bridge is that Beckham has done well in his first season in Spain, despite the views of some Spanish critics. But clearly the off-the-field activities of Beckham, the revelations of which have filled the media in the last few weeks, have completely overshadowed whatever the player may have achieved on the field and the view is that a move to Chelsea would suit him admirably.