Arshavin's on the Roman road as Chelsea look to block Barca's bid for £12m Russia midfielder

Where shall I go? Arshavin is torn between Chelsea and Barcelona

Zenit St Petersburg have accepted £12million bids from both clubs after Arshavin told the UEFA Cup holders of his determination to leave at a meeting yesterday.

Former Stamford Bridge boss Jose Mourinho has questioned Arshavin’s maturity and consistency but Abramovich appears to have no such concerns and is expected to be present at negotiations.

A deal for the 27-year-old could be tied up by as early as this weekend but Chelsea’s summer spending is unlikely to end there, with new boss Luiz Felipe Scolari keen to add Brazil striker Robinho to the already confirmed signings of Portugal stars Jose Bosingwa and Deco for a combined fee of over £24m.

Chelsea are prepared to pay Real Madrid £27m for Robinho — £8m short of the asking price set by the Spanish champions.

However, reports in Spain claim that such is Robinho’s anger at being offered as a makeweight in a deal to take Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu, he may be tempted to use FIFA regulations to buy out the remaining two years of his contract for just £10m.

Another option apparently being considered by Real is a swap deal involving Robinho and Didier Drogba, with Scolari understood to be ready to offload the Ivory Coast striker, who also interests AC Milan.

Sources in Russia suggest Arshavin’s family are trying to talk him into a move to the Barclays Premier League with his mother Tatyana and wife Yulia both said to believe it would be easier for him and his two children to settle in England rather than Spain.

But new Inter Milan boss Mourinho has warned his former employers to be cautious. ‘Arshavin is a fine player,’ he said. ‘But is he mature enough to play in the strongest leagues? At the Euros he showed a lot of inspiration against Sweden and Holland. But he looked like he was absolutely switched off in the next match against Spain.

‘At Inter we are looking for players who are capable of playing to the highest of standards not for two to five games in a row, but the entire season.’

Morale boost: Grant believes Ballack will need a boost after his Euro 2008 defeat

Scolari will take charge of his first training session on Monday, but his predecessor warned of the challenge ahead.

Avram Grant, who was axed after losing the Champions League Final to Manchester United despite also finishing second in the League and Carling Cup, said: ‘I like Scolari very much, as a person and coach. I wish him the best of luck but he will soon realise he has his work cut out.

‘He will do well to match what I did last season but even that was not enough to keep me in the job.’

The Israeli believes lifting the morale of midfielder Michael Ballack will be difficult after the Germany captain suffered defeat in Euro 2008 Final.

Grant revealed: ‘When we lost to United on penalties, he came down to breakfast the following morning, sat next to me and said: “Why do I always get punished like this? It is so hard to take”.