Emirates Stadium boss turns to dependable forward as deadline day target.
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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will switch his focus towards Lille forward Salomon Kalou after being priced out of a move for long-term midfield target Julian Draxler by the German’s club Schalke 04, according to reports in the Daily Star.
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The north London club have been desperately trying to negotiate a deal for the coveted Germany international for some time now and believed that they were close to making a breakthrough this week.
However, having seen their first two offers for the 20-year-old rejected by Schalke, the Bundesliga outfit have now told the Gunners that they are only willing to let Draxler depart in this month’s transfer window if they receive a fee of £33m up front in cash before Friday’s 11pm cut-off point.
The Premier League giants are understood to be happy to leave the final decision with their experienced French coach, although the signs are that Wenger is unwilling to pay that amount for an unproven player, meaning Arsenal are now set to switch their focus to Lille’s former Chelsea wide man instead.
Kalou, 28, has a reported buyout clause worth £2.5m in his current contract with the Ligue 1 side that runs until June 2016, with the Ivorian said to be keen to return to the Premier League this month.
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