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Arsenal have all but sealed a deal for Gonzalo Higuain, Manchester United are close to doing likewise for Thiago Alcantara and veteran Javier Saviola could be about to move to the Premier League.
Critics of Arsene Wenger in recent years often point to a relative lack of ambition in the transfer market compared to Arsenal’s rivals as one of his main failings, but surely that is not an accusation that can be levelled at the Frenchman in his pursuit of Gonzalo Higuain, who is on the verge of a move to the Emirates.
After he was spotted at Madrid airport yesterday, nearly all of this morning’s papers report that a deal for the Argentinean will be completed very soon for around £23 million that will see Higuain earn approximately £100,000 a week over three years.
Almost certainly following Higuain from Spain to England will be Thiago Alcantara, with ESPN suggesting that his move to Manchester United could be confirmed as early as today after his Dad, Brazilian World Cup winner Mazinho, put his Barcelona restaurant up for sale and the player himself was photo-shopped out of promotional campaigns for Barcelona’s new home and away kits.
We should have a better idea about Thiago when David Moyes gives his first press conference today and we also should have further updates about the future of Wayne Rooney, with the Daily Express saying that former Everton man Moyes will tell the assembled press that former Everton man Rooney is staying where he is. Whether that means he will actually stay at United is another thing, but it will appease those who don’t want Rooney to leave for the time being at least.
If Rooney does leave, Chelsea is beginning to emerge as one of the more likely options and Jose Mourinho has seemingly been clearing room for his arrival by getting rid of Demba Ba, who only signed for the Blues in January. The Times say that Ba and John Obi Mikel are both coveted by Russian giants Anzhi Makhachkala, who, if their recent re-acquisition of Chris Samba for a hefty sum is anything to go by, appear to have more money than they have sense.
A little further south of London, the Daily Mail claim that Southampton have set their sights on long-time Spurs target Leandro Damiao, a rumour backed up by The Sun, who say that they also want to add Valencia’s Ever Banega to their ranks.
Word on Southampton battling out with Cardiff for the signature of Victor Wanyama appears to have gone quiet, but the Star seem to think that the Welsh side, along with West Ham, are trying to snap up Javier Saviola from Malaga, who is available on a free transfer. What may come as a surprise to football fans of a certain generation and fans of various versions of Championship/Football Manager from the early ’00s is that Saviola is still only 31 years old despite seemingly having been around for decades.
Elsewhere, journeyman par excellence Nicolas Anelka has signed for West Brom but he doesn’t look particularly happy about it, Manuel Pellegrini is still keen on bringing Pepe to Manchester City from Real Madrid (The Independent) and according to the Daily Mirror, Liverpool will give Luis Suarez three weeks to sort out his future at the club.
