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Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is said to be keen on Arsenal winger Theo Walcott and is monitoring the England international’s ongoing contract discussions with his North London club. The 22 year old attacker has had an up and down season and by the summer will have just a year to run on his current deal and this has led to speculation about where the former Southampton’s future lies.

Though Villas-Boas has not had the best of starts as Blues boss the young Portuguese boss still has the backing of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and therefore will have the funds to bring in big new signings in the summer. The chances of luring Walcott, and receiving a significant transfer budget, depends greatly on the West London side securing a top four finish.

Arsene Wenger will be loathed to lose Walcott, even though his form has been patchy at best this season, but if Arsenal fail to clinch Champions League qualification for next term then the Gunners wideman may consider his options.

Walcott is into his sixth season at the Emirates Stadium and has no tangible reward for his time at the club and with a possible seventh season without silverware looming for Arsenal, Wenger may find it a struggle to keep hold of his top performers.

Villas-Boas will also be willing to offer Walcott a significant salary increase and sees the Arsenal man as another effective attacking weapon as well as another addition that helps him reverse the ageing nature of the Chelsea squad. Having brought in Juan Mata and put a lot of faith into England youngster Daniel Sturridge, the Blues boss wants to bring in the Arsenal man to further boost the club’s attack.

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PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti is keen to bring Arsenal star Theo Walcott to France.

Ancelotti is a big fan of Walcott and tried to sign the England international while in charge of Chelsea 12 months ago.

Walcott remains in drawn-out talks with Arsenal over a new contract, with his current deal to expire in 2013.

PSG have the spending power to turn Walcott’s head – and to convince Arsenal to cash in.

SOURCE: Tribalfootball

Theo Walcott is a frustrating player to watch. The Arsenal winger clearly has the talent but has failed to fulfill his potential on a consistent basis. Carlo Ancelotti has been brought in to the Parc des Princes to help lure top talent to the Ligue 1 side and that work may well begin in earnest if/when they secure the domestic title and the resultant Champions League qualification.

Walcott may feel more open to such a move if indeed the Gunners fail to secure Champions League qualification of their own. The England international is reportedly stalling on a new deal and may be waiting to see how this season pans out before committing long term to Arsenal.

Similarly Arsene Wenger may well feel that he is not getting enough out of the 22 year old winger and is not ready to offer the former Southampton man feels he deserves.

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Newly installed PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti is said to be readying a big money bid for Arsenal winger Theo Walcott. The Ligue 1 title chasers brought in the former Chelsea boss last month after axing Antoine Kombouare and have handed the Italian a large transfer fund as the Qatari owners of the Parc des Princes side push to secure the Paris sides first domestic title success in almost two decades.

Having spent over £85m in the summer of quality additions PSG sit at the top of the Ligue 1 pile but that will not stop Ancelotti investing in big name talent as he looks to further strengthen a squad that can mount far reaching Champions League campaigns in the coming seasons and with that in mind the 52 year old has earmarked a move for England international Walcott.

The French side may look to take advantage of the fact that the Gunners star is yet to agree terms on a new contract and as the former Southampton man has less than 18 months to run on his current deal there is much speculation about the wide-man’s Arsenal future, not least because of late the 22 year old has been hugely ineffective.

Though Walcott started the season brightly in recent weeks his form has dipped significantly and this has led to speculation that all is not well with the young attacker and there has been talk of interest in his services from a number of Europe’s elite, including both Chelsea and Juventus.

Walcott moved to North London in January 2006 for a fee that has risen to a reported £12m and the speedy Arsenal man has notched up over 200 appearances for the club, albeit with over 70 of those coming from the bench. Arguably the England man is still to fulfill his obvious potential but will still hope to be part of Fabio Capello’s Euro 2012 squad this summer.

Should an offer from PSG be made then Wenger will have to weigh up that undoubted potential against the very up and down form Walcott has displayed in the five and a half years since his Arsenal debut. Another factor could well be the reported salary demands the player has made, which the Emirates Stadium side may feel do not match the performances he produces on a weekly basis.

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists he is keen to keep Theo Walcott at the club.

The 22-year old winger is under contract until summer 2013 but is reported to be after a noteworthy raise for his next deal.

When asked about Walcott’s situation, Wenger says he is happy to have the speedy attacker at the club and is sure he will ward off overtures from Italian giants Juventus who are again believed to be interested.

“We want to keep Theo and he knows that. Of course he works every day and works very hard,” he said.

“His attitude is great, I have no problems with that at all.”

SOURCE: Tribalfootball

Italian sources have stated that Juventus intend to register their interest in 22 year old England man Walcott and the possibility of such a bid will increase if they manage to successfully offload Serbian winger Milos Krasic, a player that boss Antonio Conte appears keen to get rid of.

Arsene Wenger is keen to get Walcott tied down to a new long term contract and will hope that he can do so as soon as possible to head off any potential bid for the former Southampton man. Over the past 18 months the Gunners attacker has matured and become a more effective attacking weapon, weighing in with a decent goal tally to go with more efficient support displays helping to feed goal machine Robin Van Persie.

With less than 18 months to go until the end of his Arsenal contract, Walcott is very much in a position of power when it comes to contract talks and some sources believe that the youngster’s early demands have led to a stalling in talks.

Juventus are reportedly considering making a £20m bid for the Emirates Stadium star, an offer that is fairly decent given the length of time left on his current deal.

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In former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott is now a top target for Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola as he looks to add more wide options to his all conquering Nou Camp side.

Guardiola is looking for new youthful targets to add to those coming through the club’s academy ranks and is said to be an admirer of the 22 year old England international who has been in consistent form for the past 18 months and beginning to fulfill his obvious potential.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has directly commented on the possibility of a move for Tottenham winger Gareth Bale but it seems that the Welsh international’s North London counterpart is now the Catalan side’s preferred option for Guardiola.

Walcott has less than 18 months to run on his current contract and that may give the La Liga giants hope in the pursuit of the former Southampton man who may feel more inclined to consider a move away from the Emirates Stadium if Arsenal make it seven seasons without silverware come May. Indeed if the Gunners fail to cement a spot in next year’s Champions League then Arsene Wenger may become even more concerned about a possible Barcelona swoop.

Arsenal’s ambition was questioned over the summer after they allowed first team regulars Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy to leave, and compounded that claim by selling to Champions and Premier League rivals. Wenger then saw his side start the season woefully after making signings that arguably did not adequately replace the outgoing trio.

Though the North London side are now back on track with a fine run of form but still find themselves 12 points from top of the table Man City and in seventh spot in the table.

Barcelona are said to be ready to offer as much as £30m for Walcott, a big fee given the fact that the youngster is still to put pen to paper on a long term deal, and Guardiola may see the speedy wide-man as a player who can provide an injection of pace and a more direct approach. New signing Alexis Sanchez is yet to make an impact and David Villa has looked a tad off the pace thus far this season.

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Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been challenged to produce the goods on a consistent basis by assistant manager Pat Rice.

The 18-year-old has been tipped for stardom with the Gunners and with England following his goal on his Champions League debut last night against Olympiakos.

The England U21 international was playing League One football for Southampton last season but has taken the big leap up in his stride.

Rice believes the youngster can follow in the footsteps of winger Theo Walcott to play a big role for both club and country in the years ahead.

“From Arsenal supporters’ point of view, they are going to be seeing a lot of this boy,” Rice said. “He has a big, big challenge to now get in front of Theo.

“I know that Theo is a very strong-willed guy as well and he won’t give in easy. It all bodes well for England anyway.

“Alex can go inside, he can go outside, he’s got that injection of pace and I think what he needs now is to be consistent in his play.

“I am sure that is something he will be working on because he’s certainly not a stupid boy.

“He has good people around him and they are telling him all the right things.

“Alex is very friendly with Theo and no doubt he will give him the benefit of his experience as well.”

One issue is whether the two speedsters could play in the same team together but Rice insists it remains a point of contention.

“What you have to do is see whether the two of them can compliment each other – that is something I don’t know,” Rice added.

“The manager does not know and the England manager does not know either because we have not seen them together.

“You can think as much as you like, but until it actually happens you are only formulating an opinion of your own. All good players can play together.”

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Italian side Juventus are preparing to raid the Premiership for a trio of top class players after the latest comments coming from coach Antonio Conte.

The Juventus coach has set his sights on Manchester United’s Nani, Arsenal’s Theo Walcott and Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez.

Speaking to press after Juve’s draw with Catania over the weekend, Conte said: “If you think that Juve, after being in seventh place, can just come back to fight for the title … I repeat: we have a long way to go to get back to being competitive.

“We could not get Walcott, Nani or Tevez because of the finances involved. Clubs in Italy cannot afford such prices, so we focused on young players.

“But if we can work something out with our budget, then maybe there is a possibility.”

SOURCE: Sportsvibe

Of the three players named by this source as prospective targets for Juventus boss Antonio Conte perhaps Theo Walcott is the most realistically, and almost certainly the cheapest of the trio for the Turin side to bid for. The Arsenal man is notoriously inconsistent and like a number of his team-mates, will find himself with one year left on his contract come next summer and therefore will have to sign a new deal or be sold.

Others in an a similar position include Thomas Vermaelen and Robin Van Persie, two players who are infinitely more important to the North London side.

Juventus have had a couple of lean years but under leadership have started this campaign strongly, and now sit joint top of the table thanks to a collection of strong new signings brought in by Conte this summer. The likes of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Eljero Elia were among almost a dozen new signings brought to the club.

Arsene Wenger will be loathed to lose £20m rated Walcott but may feel that he needs to consider offers if the youngster, much like Van Persie, stalls on new contract talks. The former Southampton man is in his sixth season in the Gunners first team and arguably is still not showing the form that many had expected when he arrived on the scene back in 2006 as a fresh faced teenager.

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Arsenal have described the knee injury to forward Theo Walcott as “minor” and hope to have him back for the Champions League game against Olympiakos.

The 22-year-old pulled up in the dying stages of Arsenal’s 3-0 win on Saturday, with initial fears the winger had pulled a hamstring.

But manager Arsene Wenger has downplayed the seriousness of the problem and hopes the England international will face the Greek side and rivals Tottenham next Sunday.

“I don’t really know (what is wrong),” Wenger said. “I thought it was a classic hamstring but it is not.

“He felt a sharp pain in his knee and at the moment he is with the doctor.

“I don’t know what the diagnosis will be but it is completely surprising. There was no one near him.

“I don’t know what they will do, whether they will have a scan tonight, I will have to speak to the medical people.”

The worrying aspect for the Arsenal fans is this is not the first ‘minor’ injury the Gunners squad has faced that has turned into a long-term problem.

Midfielder Jack Wilshere was supposed to be out for only a couple of days after injuring his ankle in a pre-season game in August.

The 19-year-old will now undergo surgery and will not be back until after Christmas as the problem has failed to heal.

The Arsenal medical staff knew about his weakness and advised England not to pick Wilshere for the Euro U21 Championships because of it.

But instead of putting the player under the knife in the summer, the Gunners tried to let the injury heal itself but will now lose a star player for a long time.

The same issue happened last season with defender Thomas Vermaelen, with the Emirates staff hoping his achilles would naturally heal instead of needing an operation.

The result: Vermaelen underwent surgery and pretty much missed the whole campaign.

Another example is Abou Diaby, who the club instead of operating on his ankle at the start of the summer waited until August.

The Frenchman was supposed to back in September but is still recovering.

Cesc Fabregas, since moving to Barcelona, has shown no sign of the hamstring problems that dogged his Arsenal career over the last two years.

Maybe there is something they put in the Catalan water…

These issues need to be fixed, with big question marks hanging over the Arsenal medical staff and their efforts to keep their stars on the pitch.

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