Santi Cazorla could fill Cesc’s boots at Arsenal

As Arsenal new boy Gervinho warmed up for the coming season by scoring both goals in the Gunners' 2-1 defeat of Cologne at the weekend, Arsene Wenger is close to adding more names to his squad. According to the Metro, Villarreal midfielder Santi Cazorla is near to agreeing terms with Arsenal despite interest from Malaga.

The 26-year-old Cazorla (above), capped 34 times by Spain, is seen by Wenger as a ready-made replacement for Cesc Fabregas, who according to latest reports will become a Barcelona player by the end of the month with the Spanish giants about to make a final offer of £33.5m.

That's still less than Arsenal's asking price of £40m but Wenger will allegedly agree to let his captain go and use the money to outbid Malaga for the £20m-rated Cazorla.

The Daily Mirror says Wenger will also profit from selling Fabregas by making a renewed bid for Everton defender Phil Jagielka. The Gunners' initial bid of £10m for the England international was knocked back by the Toffees but the Mirror claims Arsenal will come back with a second bid of £15m for the 28-year-old.

With Everton not exactly rolling in cash right now, the chances are the Merseysiders will agree to the deal.

Meanwhile the Daily Mail says Wenger will also swell the club's coffers by sanctioning the sale this week of Ivory Coast right-back Emmanuel Eboue. The 28-year-old is wanted by Turkish side Galatasaray and apparently Wenger sees no reason why he shouldn't agree to offload Eboue for £4m.

In other news, Chelsea, fresh from clinching the signature of 19-year-old defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu from Barcelona, will make another offer for Luka Modric. According to the Daily Star, Chelsea will offer Spurs £27m for the Croatian midfielder, and throw in England Under-21 striker Daniel Sturridge.

The Blues first offer of £22m was treated with contempt by the Lilywhites but the Star says this second offer might weaken the resolve of chairman Daniel Levy and manager Harry Redknapp.

In addition to chasing Modric, Chelsea are also confident of landing Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku. The 18-year-old has been courted by Chelsea for months and new coach Andre Villas-Boas believes he can afford to release Sturridge to make room for the Belgian.

And could Chelsea also be on the brink of signing Javier Pastore? That certainly appears to be the case after Palermo vice-president Guglielmo Micciche gave a candid interview to Italian broadcaster Radio Sportiva.

"It's very probable that Pastore will go to Chelsea," said Micciche, although he did add that the 22-year-old Argentine ace was wanted by several clubs. "If someone pays the right money then we will be happy to sell him," said Micciche, who has stated in the past that they will not sell Pastore for less than £40m.

Finally, if the Sunday Times hasn't taken leave of its senses, there seems to be a chance that Manchester United might make a move for Joey Barton.

The paper claims that Alex Ferguson sees the purchase of the 28-year-old Newcastle midfielder as a "canny piece of business" with the Magpies happy to sell the troubled Barton for as little as £2m.

Apparently with the retirement of Paul Scholes and the continued poor health of Darren Fletcher, Ferguson thinks Barton could be a rock in the midfield at Old Trafford.

But Barton himself didn't appear too enamoured of the report, tweeting on Sunday: "Nice to be linked with some big clubs today but I honestly don't want to leave Newcastle. Thanks but no thanks. #unfinishedbusinesshere." ·