By Ian Grant
TRANSFER SPECULATION
Steve Bruce has been told by his club to forget any hope of signing Francis Jeffers – unless Arsenal decide to accept their £3million offer. Arsenal have quoted Birmingham a £5m asking price for the England striker and the player’s reported £27,000-a-week wages have forced City owner David Sullivan to call a halt to the spending spree. The Standard says Jeffers’ £50,000 wages put Spurs off.
“We’ve looked at Francis Jeffers, but he has got an incredible contract with Arsenal which will be very hard to match,” said Sullivan. It would also be very difficult to give them a lump sum on top of that, so it is unlikely that we will be doing anything.”
Arsenal have targeted Lyon’s Gregory Coupet as the latest keeper, after Monaco’s Flavio Roma this week said no to a £3m switch to Highbury. The prospect of Champions League football with his current club was the deciding factor, according to one paper. The Standard however says Wenger is still persisting with Roma. Canizares still remains an option according to reports.
Leeds confirmed they have had approaches from Aston Villa and Arsenal for Paul Robinson. Leeds earlier in the week rejected a £3m offer from Villa. But seeing a Arsenal haven’t stepped in, looks like they may no be interested.
Arsenal have won the race to sign Harry Kewell, according to the Sun. Following Frank Rijkaard’s appointment at Barcelona, the Catalan club reportedly pulled out. Edu is the latest player to be mooted as a swap. He’s also talking to Middlesbrough.
Rijkaard though has persuaded Dutch midfielder Cocu to take a 30% pay cut and stay at Barcelona, despite Arsenal’s offer, for the free transfer player.
Patrick Kluivert though says he fancies playing for Arsenal, above Man U and would be available for a knock down fee.
Arsene Wenger has rejected rumours of a possible swoop for Parma’s Hidetoshi Nakata. “It is not possible to sign Nakata. Arsenal do not have enough funds to finance his transfer fee. There is a chance he might play for Arsenal but we do not need any more reinforcements in midfield so we will not make a move for him this summer.”
Auxerre’s Philippe Mexes high on his list of Arsenal targets is now also interesting Roma. “The idea of playing with Roma really attracts me,” he said. “I know the management are interested in me and I can’t pretend I am not excited by the possibility.”
Another Wenger target, the Ajax captain Christian Chivu, is on the brink of joining Inter. The Serie A club will pay around £10m for the Romanian international. However the Mirror affirms that Freddie Ljungberg is not going to Inter, despite their interest.
William Gallas has sparked a scramble, including reported interest from Arsenal after criticising Chelsea. He’s valued at £8m but is also courted by clubs in Spain and Italy.
According to the News of the World, Arsenal are favourites to sign 22 year old Brazilian striker Ilan from Atletico Parenense. It also moots Bayer Leverkusen defender Lucio, if Mexes falls through.
The same paper says Arsenal are interested in bringing back Marc Overmars.
Txiki Begiristain, Barcelona’s new sporting director, has all but ruled out a move for Arsenal’s French striker Thierry Henry. He says he’s too expensive.
PLAYERS
Patrick Vieira has undergone an operation on his knee, in Strasbourg in a bid to get fully fit for the start of the new season. The Express on Sunday says Vieira is close to agreeing a three to four year deal worth £60,000/week.
MISCELLANEOUS
Arsene Wenger claims the transfer of David Beckham could be the start of the summer sales at Old Trafford.
Portuguese bank, Banco Espirito Santo is in talks with RBS to put together a syndicate of four banks to fund Ashburton Grove. The bank is involved in financing Coventry City’s stadium.
William Hills odds for the coming season are: Evens Manchester United; 13-8 Arsenal; 7-1 Liverpool; 9-1 Newcastle United and 14-1 Chelsea.
Bookies William Hill made Arsene Wenger, who has two years remaining on his Highbury contract, second favourite to land the Real job at 8-1 while Eriksson is priced at 10-1. Frenchman Raynald Denoueix, who guided Real Sociedad to runners up in La Liga, is 5-1 favourite. (Why has the new manager only a two year contract? Wenger has two years remaining on his contract).
The Guardian moots that Arsenal are opting for a continental 4-2-3-1, next season with Pires in a central role alongside Vieira and Kewell on the left. Pires has played in the centre in the Confederations Cup matches.
When an autograph hunter told Arsene Wenger he wanted to a number ten, Wenger replied: “”Ah,” He pointed to his eyes.”Play with these. Always remember it.”