SOCCER:Arjen Robben is set to sign a new deal with Chelsea that will tie him to the club for another five years. The 23-year-old, linked with a move to Real Madrid earlier this week, will remain a Chelsea player according to his father and agent.

Hans Robben insisted he had never spoken to Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon about his son's future.

Calderon had claimed the two parties were in the 'early stages' of talks with Chelsea but Robben senior declared: "I never met him or anyone from Madrid and did not speak to them.

"We're nearly finished negotiating with Chelsea, Arjen will stay another five years with the club."

Robben's decision to stay put follows Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien. They both opted to agree to new long-term deals while captain John Terry and midfielder Frank Lampard are expected to do the same.

Meanwhile, full-back Geremi has admitted he would be tempted by a return to Middlesbrough.

The Cameroon international spent a very successful season on loan at the Riverside in 2002.

He turned down a permanent move to Middlesbrough but has struggled to become an established first-team member at Stamford Bridge.

Now the 28-year-old is considering a move back to Boro and almost invited the club to make him an offer.

Geremi said: "The option of Middlesbrough is excellent because they are a high-level club and I have already played there. I would go there happily if they made me a good offer."

Chelsea were yesterday linked again with Florent Malouda, the Lyon winger who is set to quit the French club.

Malouda claims Liverpool and Chelsea have contacted Lyon to inquire about him and says he is now just waiting for more news from the French champions.

Malouda said: "I have talked with Lyon officials. There are no offers yet, but it is true there has been direct contact. Liverpool and Chelsea have shown interest," he told L'Equipe.

"I don't know how it will be finalised. But in my mind it is certain I will leave.

"At Chelsea there is Didier Drogba and all the rest. But at Liverpool, (Rafa) Benitez is a great coach too, and the team has played in two Champions League finals in three years.

"To me the most important thing will be the desire shown by the club. To move abroad, you really have to be wanted.

"I believe it will still need some time. But if the deal is good for Lyon, I believe they won't try to keep me."

Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has said it is "great to hear" AC Milan are interested in him but that he remains a Gunner for now despite being "devastated" at the departure of vice-chairman David Dein.

Asked about reports of interest from AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, the 29-year-old Frenchman told ESPN Soccernet: "It's great to hear. How can you not think that? The only thing I can tell you is, right now, I'm an Arsenal player but hearing that is nice to hear," he said.

Henry said Dein, whose exit in April followed a boardroom split, had always shown a deep respect for the players and he and manager Arsene Wenger personified what it meant to be a Gunner.

"I was devastated," he said. "One person that I wouldn't have liked to leave the board would have been Mr Dein."

The striker, who last May said his heart had convinced him to sign on for four more years, said the picture at Arsenal had now changed.

"Everybody knows that a lot of stuff happened at the club recently that wasn't supposed to happen," he said.

Henry's comments have been seen by some in the British press as a sign that he may part with the Gunners, who he joined in 1999, but the striker said he wanted to put the Dein affair behind him.

"Sometimes that's just the way it is. It happened, and we have to move on," he said.

Henry (29) looked to have pledged himself to Arsenal for the rest of his playing days by signing a new long-term deal last year, said to be worth in the region of £110,000-a-week in the wake of their Champions League final appearance.

However, a disappointing first campaign at the club's new 60,000-seater home in Ashburton Grove and the lack of supposed big-name signings have once again seen speculation rise the Gunners' most talented player could be tempted for fresh challenges elsewhere.