Emirates Stadium side to sign ‘New Robin Van Persie’.
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Arsenal have reportedly moved a massive step closer to securing a deal to sign long term target Stevan Jovetic.
Arsene Wenger has been in negotiations to complete a move to capture the in-form 23 year old dubbed the ‘New Robin Van Persie’ after agreeing personal terms with the Fiorentina striker.
The Gunners boss has successfully moved to secure funds to offer the Montenegro international a four year deal worth an estimated £100k a week and have reached a tacit agreement with the Stadio Artemio Franchi side over a fee for the young attacker.
Fiorentina had been angling for a fee of as much as €35m (£29m) but appear ready to accept an offer of £24m, which will see the North London side smash their club transfer record. Vincenzo Montella has apparently insisted that any completed move would not be made public as he doesn’t want to disrupt his side’s push for to secure a Champions League berth.
Montella’s side currently sit in fourth spot just a point off a top three finish that would help Fiorentina return to Europe’s premier cup competition for the first time in four seasons. The young Viola manager may fear that news of a confirmed deal could lead to a backlash from the club’s supporters at a key stage of the season.
Indeed the Serie A manager may recall that Lukas Podolski was unable to prevent his Koln side from relegation from the Bundesliga in his last season at the club, with his future move to Arsenal having been all but agreed some months earlier and perhaps having a knock on effect in the club’s battle to beat the drop.
Montella has already brought in a long term replacement for Jovetic in the form of former Man United and Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi, who Fiorentina were happy to sign in January despite the 26 year old still being sidelined with a long term knee injury.
Arsene Wenger has been keen to supplement his Arsenal attack and has been monitoring Jovetic for the best part of a year and has been pleased with his consistent Serie A form. The Fiorentina forward has scored an impressive 26 goals in his last 53 top tier starts.
Wenger will not look to offload Olivier Giroud to make room for Jovetic, despite the French international’s average, if not spectacular, first season with the club. Rather the Arsenal boss will look to make room for the Fiorentina man by offloading a myriad of strikers in his squad that are seemingly very much surplus to requirements.
The likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-Young will all be permanently moved on this summer whilst a number of other peripheral members of Arsenal’s playing staff will be sold to help ease the wage burden on the club’s balance sheet.
Jovetic is said to be a target of a number of sides but has set his sights on a Premier League switch over apparent interest from other Serie A sides.
Fiorentina purchased the talented forward from Partizan Belgrade in May 2008 for a fee in the region of £8m and Jovetic has gone on to become something of a cult hero with the club’s supporters.
After initially struggling for consistent form and then suffering a lengthy absence with a cruciate ligament injury Stevan Jovetic has grown to become one of the club’s top performers over the past two years.