After Barcelona failed in their attempts to woo this Russian star, it’s reported that Arsene Wenger is leading the chase for what could be a truly fantastic signing.
The agent of Zenit St Petersburg star Andrei Arshavin has revealed that he expects the playmaker to travel to England for transfer discussions.
Dennis Lachter insists Arshavin would only consider a club which can provide UEFA Champions League football.
“Andrei would like to play in the Premier League but he will not accept an offer from clubs like Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa,” Lachter said in the Daily Telegraph.
“There are only four British clubs he would play for and they are in the Champions League. It’s not about money, it’s about a team and professional ambition.
“Zenit is negotiating with several clubs. We are now waiting for a phone call from Zenit president Alexander Dyukov to allow us to negotiate his personal terms with one of them. It’s most likely he will be heading for England.”
But Lachter has said that any interested club will need to double Barca’s bid and table an offer of around £24million to prise the playmaker away from Zenit.
“It’s going to be a very big transfer,” Lachter added. “Zenit will definitely not accept an offer of less than 30million euros (£23.8m).
Arsenal could therefore emerge as favourites to sign Arshavin, and reports in Russia have suggested the player will travel to London this week to speak with both the Gunners and Premier League rivals Chelsea. (Sky Sports)
The Andrei Arshavin saga continues with his agent very much enjoying his position of power by encouraging bids from all over the place! I am not surprised he is adamant that such a large fee would be needed to secure his client’s services, that way he gets an even bigger slice of the transfer fee pie!
Andrei suits Arsenal down to the ground, and if he is a true Arsenal target and one that they could well clinch, then it is unlikely to be leaked out as Wenger is one cool customer when it comes to new signings. Seemingly these deals complete themselves in an instant and, before you know it, a player is on the turf waving a club scarf to the assorted press. So Gunners fans, will this happen?