Samir Nasri to join Man Utd as Arsenal agree to cash in

Arsenal's Samir Nasri is on his way to Old Trafford. That's the eye-popping claim made by the Daily Mirror who say Manchester United are about to offer the Gunners £20m for the diminutive French midfielder, a sum Arsenal won't turn down.

Arsene Wenger wants the 24-year-old Nasri to stay at the Emirates, says the Mirror, but at the same time he won't have a repeat of the Mathieu Flamini situation three years ago, when the Frenchman ran down his contract and quit on a free transfer.

Apparently Wenger is determined that Nasri – who has a year to go on his contract – will be milked for all he's worth, and if that means selling him to United then so be it.

Having failed in his bids to land either Wesley Sneijder of Inter or Tottenham's Luka Modric, United manager Alex Ferguson has set his sights on Nasri and is confident £20m will be enough to prise him out of Arsenal's grasp. The Independent also reports that United are closing in on Nasri, saying Ferguson is "convinced" he will get his man.

However, Talksport are not convinced and say that Manchester City are also after the Frenchman. They too are prepared to pay £20m for the player and have already held talks with the player's representatives.

However, City boss Roberto Mancini can forget about signing Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi. The 26-year-old Argentine, nicknamed El Pocho [the chubby one], comes with a £25m price tag. But despite the prospect of cashing in on him, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis told Corriere dello Sport he won't be selling. "This story makes me laugh," said De Laurentiis. "My dear Mancini, I am sorry for you."

Perhaps City's purported interest in Lavezzi is just a ruse, a cunning plan as they line up their real target - Fiorentina's Alessio Cerci. That's what La Gazzetta dello Sport seems to believe. According to the Italian rag, the 23-year old winger is in negotiations with the Sky Blues to move to Eastlands, and a £6.3m deal will soon be announced. Sky Sports Italia also carries the story and indicates that Cerci has all but completed the move to Manchester.

And the Sun reports that City are putting together a £20m package with which to entice Leighton Baines from Everton. Apparently Mancini is an ardent admirer of the Toffees' left-back and was making enquiries last season. Though unsuccessful on that occasion, City are likely to have more success this time because of Everton's parlous financial situation.

Baines, 26, was bought from Wigan by Everton for £6m in 2007 and, according to the Sun, City will offer the Merseyside club £10m in cash plus two of their own players – former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor and defender Nedum Onuoha.

One man who won't be going anywhere, or at least certainly not to Marseille, is Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. The 33-year-old Ivorian hitman has been linked with any number of clubs in recent weeks but Marseille chief Jose Anigo has declared that he won't be heading their way despite the best attempts to lure him from Stamford Bridge.

In an interview with French broadcaster RMC, Anigo said: "I spoke with him a fortnight ago and he was pretty clear that he doesn't want to return to France just yet." Meanwhile the latest club to be mooted as a possible destination for Drogba is Turkey outfit Galatasaray.

Finally, Talksport claims that Liverpool have not only lost the chance to sign the Ipswich teen striker Connor Wickham, but that they're also unlikely to snare Monaco frontman Park Chu-Young.

The 25-year-old South Korean has been a regular goal-getter for Monaco in recent seasons in the French first division, and Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish had apparently been confident he would snap him up. But Talksport claims Liverpool have been gazumped by French champions Lille, who are allegedly buying Chu-Young with the proceeds from selling Gervinho to Arsenal. ·