Chelsea in talks with striker Romelu Lukaku

Anderlecht have confirmed for the first time they and Chelsea are in discussions over Romelu Lukaku moving to Stamford Bridge.

And the transfer could involve Kevin De Bruyne joining the Brussels club on loan, with the midfielder admitting he was keen to leave Genk for the Blues and be farmed back out to his native Belgium.

Lukaku, 18, has long been linked with Chelsea, who he has confessed to support.

Rumours have been rife that Anderlecht general manager Herman van Holsbeeck had visited London to thrash out a deal with the Barclays Premier League club.

And he has now confirmed that he has been in talks with them, in addition to other clubs, amid reports Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham are also interested in the teenager.

Van Holsbeeck told Sky Sports: "There is still a long way to go in the negotiations.

"We are indeed negotiating with Chelsea, but there are other clubs we are talking to."

Van Holsbeeck refused to put a timescale on any deal, saying: "It could happen in the next half hour, it could take until August 31 - that is football."

Lukaku's Belgium team-mate De Bruyne could be used as a makeweight in any deal, with the 19-year-old midfielder revealing that would be acceptable to him were he to sign for Chelsea.

"I have had time to think about my future and I would love to join Chelsea, but the important thing next season is that I play," he said.

"With Chelsea, there is not that guarantee, but there would be at Anderlecht and they would be an ideal springboard for me.

"I know Genk are in the Champions League but they must get through two rounds anyway, and if I can improve sporting wise and obviously financially, then I hope Genk will not put any obstacles in my way."

De Bruyne's agent denied his client's loan move to Anderlecht would be dependent on any Lukaku deal.

Patrick de Koster said: "No, that is not the case.

"Kevin, though, is happy with the prospect of joining Anderlecht - he has stated that himself.

"He knows Chelsea have a history of this (loaning out players) and, if you do well, you will get your chance.

"And, yes, although he would benefit financially from this move, he is young and this is about his career and sporting opportunity."

Chelsea are continuing to make moves in the transfer market, despite having been without a manager for almost a month.

Wednesday saw them have a reported £22million bid rejected for Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric, an offer they will have to increase significantly to stand any chance of prising him away from White Hart Lane.

The Blues' managerial vacancy could soon be filled, with Turkey boss Guus Hiddink reportedly set to return to Stamford Bridge if a compensation package with his current employers can be agreed.

Arsenal close in on £10.6m signing of Gervinho

Arsenal hope to tie up the £10.6m transfer of the Ivory Coast striker Gervinho over the weekend.

The 24-year-old is likely to agree terms on a four-year deal once Arsenal can finalise the terms of the transfer with his club, Lille.

Gervinho scored 18 goals in his 31 games last season as Lille won the French title for the first time since 1954. However, he has made it clear he wants to move to Arsenal, where he would become the third player from the ASEC Mimosas Academy in Abidjan to represent the club, following the footsteps of Emmanuel Eboué and Kolo Touré. The academy was established by the Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger's close friend Jean Marc Guillou.

Samir Nasri's future at Arsenal remains in doubt, and he is to hold talks with Wenger over his future at the Emirates later this summer.

The France midfielder has still to agree a contract extension to his current deal, which runs out in 2012. Nasri said: "Earlier in the season I spoke with the boss and we said we would talk during the summer, which is what we are going to do."

Marveaux's move to Anfield on hold

Sylvain Marveaux, the French left winger that Liverpool have spent months trying to bring to Anfield, has failed a fitness test.

The 25-year-old, who is out of contract at Rennes, has not played since November because of a serious groin injury and a medical at Liverpool revealed it remains enough of a problem to make signing him a risk.

Ronaldo happy to finish career at Real

Cristiano Ronaldo claimed he would stay at Real Madrid for another 10 years if the opportunity arose.

The former Manchester United forward, who scored 53 goals for Madrid last season, was linked with a move to Manchester City but Ronaldo, 26, said: "I can't see myself leaving Madrid. I'm very happy here, it has been phenomenal."

Samuel Eto'o considering Premier League switch

Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o has revealed he is mulling over a move to the Barclays Premier League this summer.

The Cameroon star, who has three years remaining on his contract, had said that he wanted to remain at the San Siro after scoring twice in their Coppa Italia triumph over Palermo.

But he told Corriere dello Sport: "I am currently considering my options. I have one month to decide as to whether I want to stay put or choose to move to the Premier League.

"I am now 30 years old and it is very important for me to think about my future before I sign what could be my last contract.

"I have already shown that I have what it takes to play in Italy and I now have the idea of proving myself in England."

The former Barcelona forward had been linked with moves to Chelsea and Arsenal earlier in his career.

Barcelona president slams Jose Mourinho and behaviour of Real Madrid

A war of words between Barcelona and Real Madrid intensified today when Barca president Sandro Rosell accused their bitter rivals of anti-sporting behaviour and slammed Real coach Jose Mourinho.

Bad blood boiled up between the Spanish giants around four clashes in three competitions in 18 days in April and May and Rosell used his end-of-season news conference to read out a strongly-worded statement condemning Real.

"We believe that this season Real Madrid has gone beyond all the limits of the necessary sporting rivalry, making accusations against our club that have no foundation," Rosell said.

"The rivalry will continue next season but we will not allow the limits of sporting behaviour to be exceeded again.

"Football deserves clean competition and FC Barcelona will do everything to preserve that.

"If necessary, we will take legal action and take the case to the relevant sporting tribunals."

European champions Barca eliminated Real from the Champions League and beat the Madrid club into second place in La Liga for a third straight season, while Real claimed a dramatic King's Cup final win over Barca to claim their only silverware.

The four matches were marred by play-acting, brawling and post-game allegations of cheating and racist abuse.

After the Champions League semi-final first leg, Mourinho claimed Barca enjoyed favourable treatment from referees and Real filed a complaint with UEFA - which was rejected - accusing Barca players of diving and alleging midfielder Sergio Busquets had called defender Marcelo a monkey.

Barca filed their own complaint with UEFA over Mourinho's comments and the Portuguese was suspended for five matches and fined 50,000 euros ($70,700).

He faces an appeals hearing on July 29 and has said he will use all means at his disposal to fight the sanction.

"The news conference that the Real Madrid coach gave after the Champions League semi-final first leg at the Bernabeu shamed anyone who considers themselves an athlete," Rosell said.

Barca were also outraged by a report on Spanish radio station Cadena Cope, which cited an unidentified Real official as its source, that suggested Barca's players and medical staff were engaged in illegal doping.

"I can assure you that if someone, in the name of FC Barcelona, had made an accusation of this kind we would have acted with firmness, denying it immediately and taking those responsible to court," Rosell said.

"We would have appreciated a similar response from Real Madrid but unfortunately this was not the case."

Rosell said it was now up to Real president Florentino Perez to mend relations between the clubs.

"A few days ago the president of Real Madrid said he would not stop until the club had won a tenth European Cup," he said.

"We hope that they attempt this on the pitch, in a sporting manner and rediscovering a way of behaving that I believe many Madrid fans want.

"The president of Real Madrid has a chance to reconstitute our relations, on and off the pitch.

"Football, which usually gives you back what you put in, will be the great beneficiary."

Spurs vow to keep Modric as Chelsea up bid to £25m

Enraged Tottenham chairman tells London rivals that Croatian is not for sale at any price

Relations between Chelsea and Tottenham hit a new low yesterday after Spurs insisted Luka Modric would not be sold to Stamford Bridge ''at any price''. Spurs also accused their London rivals of publicising a bid of £22m for the Croatian midfielder,who has now expressed a desire to move. Chelsea, who described suggestions that they publicised the bid as "nonsense'', put in their offer on Wednesday and far from accepting the rejection, are believed to have increased it to about £25m.

When Modric went public yesterday with his reasons for wanting to join them – "to win trophies and play Champions' League football every year" – Tottenham's chairman, Daniel Levy, was prompted to issue a strong statement criticising Chelsea and stressing that the player is going nowhere. He said: "We made our stance on this issue abundantly clear in writing to Chelsea. They chose to ignore it and then subsequently made the offer public.

Chelsea bid has unsettled Modric

"I wish to make it absolutely clear, as I have said previously, that none of our key players will be sold this summer. We are building a team for the future to consistently play at the highest level and retaining quality players is crucial to that. In respect of Luka Modric, we are not prepared to sell, at any price, to Chelsea Football Club or any other club. We now consider this matter closed.''

Whether Modric will share that take on events remains to be seen and Chelsea have a history of securing their man in the transfer market, usually at a hugely inflated price,

Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson is a great admirer of Modric's, and both Manchester clubs have been encouraged by his desire for a transfer, although the player says he and his family are keen to stay in London, which is why Chelsea are his first choice. Modric and his agent, meanwhile, must decide whether to make a formal transfer request this week.

The Rennes midfielder Sylvain Marveaux has agreed to join Newcastle. The 25-year-old is a free transfer and he will sign a five-year deal.