Arsenal poised to sign Ben Foster and Chris Samba

Ben Foster will be leaving Birmingham if the Blues go down on Sunday, that's the claim made by the Metro. The well-regarded gloveman has been outstanding for Birmingham this season, helping them beat Arsenal to win the Carling Cup in February, but his exploits haven't been enough to save the Blues from a relegation dogfight. They go to Spurs on Sunday knowing anything other than a win could seem them drop out of the Premier League; ironically Tottenham are one of the teams on the trail of the 28-year-old Foster, along with Aston Villa and Arsenal.

The Gunners are favourites to sign Foster, according to the Metro, as manager Arsene Wenger looks to beef up his backline in the wake of a disastrous defensive display this season. Also in his favour is the fact that Foster, unlike most of the Arsenal squad, knows what it feels like to win a trophy.

Metro quotes Foster as saying: "I want to stay at Birmingham but if the club agree a fee for any player, in effect it's out of the player's hands."

Meanwhile Arsenal have apparently knocked back an £8m offer from Bayern Munich for Bacary Sagna. German rag Bild says that the 28–year-old right-back is wanted by Bayern, but also by Italian club Juventus, and the Gunners believe they can spark a bidding war for the player who's been at the Emirates since 2007. Apparently Arsenal told Bayern their bid was "insufficient" and mentioned in passing the sum of £15m as being about right.

It wasn't so long ago that the Gunners were being linked with Belgian sensation Eden Hazard but that was before the 20-year-old wing caught the eye of a host of other top clubs. Inter Milan are said to be eyeing up the Lille star, while several Spanish clubs are also interested. Now the Daily Mirror claims that Liverpool have actually made an official approach to Lille regarding Hazard. No money has been mentioned but the English club have asked Lille to let them know if there are any "new developments" as to his future. It's believed that the French outfit would want £20m for one of Europe's most talked about players.

The Daily Mail speculates that Arsenal might be poised to swoop for Christopher Samba, Blackburn's centre-half who was rumoured to be a target of Wenger's back in January. The paper says the 27-year-old powerhouse will cost the Gunners £12m but that the club believes it is a price worth paying to sort out their defensive problems.

In other news Jermain Defoe might be on the brink of leaving Spurs after growing tired of warming the bench. The England striker hasn't had as much game time as he would have liked this season and in an interview with Sky Sports News he said he was thinking of making a fresh start: "I want to help the club achieve things, win trophies and get in the Champions League, but when you feel like you are working hard, training hard and being professional, and then for some reason you are not playing, it is difficult," whined Defoe, who's scored four times in 21 appearances this season. "I love the club... but for me the main thing is playing football and if I am not playing football then I am not happy, because I love my football."

And perhaps Spurs won't stand in Defoe's way if he chooses to go, particularly if  German magazine Kicker has its facts right in claiming that the Lilywhites are close to signing Pierre-Michel Lassoga. The 19-year-old German – a member of his country's Under-21 squad – has been going great guns for Hertha Berlin this season and apparently a £5m offer from Spurs is about to be made for him.

Finally, French sports daily L'Equipe say that Manchester United will unveil their first signing of the summer shortly after their Champions League final against Barcelona – and it will be Lens defender Raphael Varane. The French club have just been relegated from the first division and the 18-year-old Varane – mature beyond his years – will be swapping Northern France for Old Trafford. ·