Gunners close in on star man.
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Arsenal are set to complete a sensational £50 million swoop for Liverpool striker Luis Suarez this week.
The Gunners had been working their way toward Liverpool’s asking price for the past fortnight after the 27-year-old had made it clear that he would be willing to turn down a move to Real Madrid to stay in England if a club able to offer Champions League football came knocking.
Earlier this week Arsenal put in a provocative bid of £40,000,001 in order to activate a clause in his contract that would allow him to talk to Arsene Wenger about a possible move. The offer was rejected by Liverpool, who were thought to be outraged by the nature of the offer.
However, CaughtOffside understands that Arsenal have now bypassed any further mind games with their northern counterparts and have met the £50 million asking price set by manager Brendan Rodgers.
The Reds boss has reluctantly given his blessing to the controversial Uruguayan to meet with the north London outfit, but not before reminding him of the unconditional support he has enjoyed from the club’s fans over his indiscretions of the past two years.
Wenger is well aware that Suarez still has six games remaining of a 10 match ban to serve for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic last season, but is willing to smash the club’s transfer record in order to land a player capable of finally replacing Robin Van Persie.
Suarez made an uninterested 18-minute cameo appearance from the bench in this week’s friendly with Australian side Melbourne Victory.
Coming off at 1-0 up, Suarez laid on the pass to new boy Iago Aspas to make it 2-0, however, his lack of interest upon the ball reaching the net was visible as he refused to celebrate and offered only the most minimal amount of acknowledgement to his teammates who sought to congratulate him on his assist.
It is clear that the player’s mind is in London now as Arsenal have reached the asking price of £50 million. And should personal terms be agreed then he will overtake Spanish midfielder Jose Antonio Reyes, who is still currently the club’s record signing at £17.5 million.
Real Madrid are also thought to still be interested, but as of yet still haven’t made a formal bid as they are hoping to land their first choice target of the summer, Gareth Bale.
Luis Suarez has already agreed terms on an £150k a week five year deal according to the Daily Mail and it is thought that a deal will be struck with Liverpool imminently.