There is still no hard news coming out of Madrid this morning, which means that several news sites are running with ‘Gonzalo Higuain deal gets even closer’ type stories. At least a couple of sites have claimed that an Arsenal entourage are in Madrid and that Wenger may be jetting out to join them soon.
Goal also says that Higuain’s father has confirmed that talks between Real Madrid and potential suitors Arsenal and Juventus are at an “advanced stage” regarding the striker’s transfer.
Gunners officials have travelled to Madrid in order to finalise a move for the 25-year-old with Arsene Wenger’s side looking to tie up a deal for just over €20 million, while the Spanish club are looking for a figure of over €25m. The Premier League club have already agreed a contract with Higuain that will start with a wage of €115,000-a-week.
The reason why the deal hasn’t go through is largely believed to be because Real Madrid are without a manager at the moment. So it may take a week more before it all gets finalised.
Meanwhile Touchlinetalk has the lowdown on another key Arsenal target Florent Dimitri Payet. The site runs through the career history of the Frenchman who can play as a winger or an attacking midfielder. Payet is said to be a selfless player on the pitch and notched up a very impressive 18 assists at Lile this eason. He can however have his immature moments too highlighted by his altercation with former teammate Blaise Matuidi and failing to turn up to training. It will be interesting to see how this on pans out.
Finally it seems that Arsenal’s interest in Barcelona’s David Villa has dwindled away to nothing. According to a report in El Mundo Deportivo on Monday morning Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas has instructed new director of football Franco Baldini to close a deal for Villa.
The disappointment for Villa is that Spurs can’t offer the player Champions League football, this season anyhow. Arsenal can give the player that platform but seem to have lost interest in signing the prolific Barca striker.
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