Chelsea's buy-to-let Becks bid

If Kenyon could announce he had signed Beckham, it would win him back much of the respect and fans' support he lost over his shabby treatment of manager Claudio Ranieri, as well as putting him back in favour with Abramovich.

For all their spending, the club still lack a player of Beckham's charisma. Far-fetched though it may seem, the deal is also thought to appeal to Beckham's representatives. It may also enable the England captain to focus more on playing football. His form at the Bernabeu has suffered following tales of allegedly slighted senoritas and, amazingly, he has been blamed by Real fans for the club's exit from Europe.

The almost-reclusive Tony Stephens at SFX had a good handle on how to balance Beckham's football and non-football activities but he now acts only on his football contracts. Beckham is instead managed by 19 Management, a company run by Simon Fuller, the man behind the Spice Girls.

Fuller seems interested more in magazine exposure than the back pages of the tabloids. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson thought Beckham was spending too much time in the photographic studios and at film premieres and not enough resting between matches during his latter days at the club. Some at Real feel there is the same imbalance now. But Ferguson must have watched the publicity over the Rebecca Loos scandal and been thankful it was happening around the Bernabeu and not Old Trafford.

There seems no doubt a clear-out at Stamford Bridge is scheduled for this summer and new players are to be brought in. Beckham might see the opportunity to achieve in the autumn of his career what he did so exhilaratingly when he was in his early 20s at Manchester United. Real coach Carlos Queiroz believes England will reap the benefits of Beckham's season in Madrid at the European Championship.

Beckham's move to central midfield, coupled with playing alongside the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Luis Figo, has convinced Queiroz that the England skipper has matured into the player who can lead Sven Goran Eriksson's team to glory in Portugal.

The former United No 2 said: 'There is no doubt about it that David has improved as a player since coming to Europe. He has become stronger, the quality of his football has grown - now he can play in a variety of positions. 'He will be vital for England in the summer during Euro 2004. He is a lot stronger than when he was at United.'