Juan Mata mulls move to Arsenal or Tottenham

Arsenal's bid to bring Juan Mata to the Emirates is nearing fruition according to Spanish rag Marca. The Valencia midfielder has been on the Gunners' wish list for months and the paper says that he's on the brink of signing for the North London club in a £17.7m deal.

Apparently the paperwork would have already been completed were it not for a late and mischievous bid from Tottenham. The Lilywhites are alleged to have made an offer for the 23-year-old Mata (above) and, according to Marca, the player's dad - who also acts as his agent - is scrutinising both offers and will make a decision by the end of the week.

Arsenal are still in the driving seat to sign the Spanish international as they can offer Mata European football, while the best Tottenham can do is show him photos of their 1984 Uefa Cup-winning side.

Meanwhile the Sun reports that Christopher Samba has begged Blackburn to do the decent thing and step aside so he can join Arsenal. Though the 27-year-old French defender signed a new contract with Rovers only a few months ago, it's clear he's had his head turned by interest from the Gunners. "I don't know what is happening with Arsenal because I am not dealing with it," said Samba. "But it would be a big lie if I told you 'everything is good and I don't want to play in the Champions League'... it is difficult for me at the moment because I'm just waiting to see what happens."

Portuguese outfit Porto have turned up their noses at a substantial offer for their Brazilian striker Hulk, or at least that's what the player's agent says. Teodoro Fonseca has been spilling the beans to Portuguese daily Record, saying: "I would be lying if I said no proposals have emerged to sign Hulk. I think the highest bid was 80 million [euro], but Porto did not even want to negotiate."

Pressed on which club had that sort of cash to splash around on an above-average frontman, Fonseca replied: "I cannot reveal that. But it is not hard to see because there are only three or four clubs who are able to present that kind of sum for a player."

Chelsea and Manchester City have both been linked with the 25-year-old South American (real name, Givanildo Vieira de Souza) in the past, but with the Sky Blues having just shelled out £39m for Sergio Aguero, and Chelsea prepared to pay a big whack for Romanu Lukaku, it would be a surprise if they could afford such a figure for the Hulk.

Belgian broadcaster RTB claims that the Blues have made a second bid for the teenage Lukaku after their first approach of £18m was knocked back by Anderlecht. This time they have apparently offered £20m, though RTB say that this still won't be enough for the Belgian club. They have demanded £25m but Chelsea appear unwilling to meet that figure, perhaps leaving the door open for Arsenal, who are known to be monitoring the situation.

Elsewhere, reports from Spain indicate that Manchester United are going head to head with Barcelona for the signature of Flamengo star Adryan.

The 16-year-old midfielder shot to prominence during the recent U-17 World Cup in Mexico and United boss Alex Ferguson has reportedly been in contact with the Brazilian's agent, Rodrigo Pitta. According to the Spanish press Pitta has acknowledged his discussions with United but referred them back to Flamengo, who will have the final say on whether Adryan moves to Europe. ·