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Robben and father reveal Chelsea ambitions
Last updated at 13:22pm on 06.05.07Arjen Robben wants to sign a new contract at Chelsea — and his father is being lined up for a key role at a new feeder club for the FA Cup finalists.
Robben Jnr is hoping to strike a new deal at Stamford Bridge despite reports he would leave for Barcelona or Bayern Munich.
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Committed: Robben wants to stay on at Stamford Bridge
And his father, Hans, could soon be part of Chelsea's plans for world domination after being offered a role as technical adviser to one of Robben's former teams, FC Groningen, who are set to become a feeder club for his current employers.
Hans helped to set up a meeting last weekend in London between officials from the Dutch club and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon. They discussed establishing new links between the clubs which would allow Chelsea youngsters to gain first-team experience in a top European league.
The arrangement would probably be similar to the relationship between Manchester United and Belgian club Antwerp, where a number of young United players have spent time before returning to Old Trafford.
Chelsea, who already have links with another Dutch club, PSV Eindhoven, declined to comment last night.
Hans Nijland, FC Groningen's managing director, said: "Arjen's father visits all our home matches. He also sees most matches at Chelsea and he is a regular guest there. We asked him to be the intermediary between both clubs and arrange a meeting with Peter Kenyon.
"I spent the whole of last weekend with our manager Henk Veldmate in London.We had a first meeting with Mr Kenyon.
"Chelsea were very open and warm to us. They let us look behind the scenes, especially in the technical and commercial departments of the club. We have now made big arrangements for Chelsea to come to Holland. They will arrive with a whole delegation at our Euro Tournament this month, which is the world's biggest club tournament for under-19s.
"After that we will discuss how we can work together when it comes to the best use of young players and developments of Chelsea's talents. Chelsea have enough players to create three Premier League teams."
Hans, who used to be a youth coach at FC Groningen, will have an advisory role and a position in the technical department if the deal is agreed.
