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Wenger ready to splash the cash for Manuel Neuer
Transfer Talk: Arsenal want to bolster defence with Neuer in goal and Cahill in front of him
Arsene Wenger is apparently making enquiries about Schalke shot-stopper Manuel Neuer. Until yesterday's victory against Manchester United, the Arsenal boss had overseen Arsenal's fortunes plunge like a Pippa Middleton neckline and now he's finally prepared to splash the cash in a bid to bring back the glory years to the Emirates.
According to the Mail, the nutty professor sees the 25-year-old Neuer as the man to restore some sanity to Arsenal’s flimsy defence.
Neuer is rated one of the world’s best keepers – as he showed last week during Schalke's Champions League encounter with Manchester United – and Wenger is allegedly ready to match Bayern Munich's £7.8 million-a-year offer.
The Mail says that contrary to rumours doing the rounds last week, Neuer has agreed nothing with Bayern and is even less likely to move to the German giants after the reception he received from the Munich crowd on Saturday. They made clear their dislike of Neuer with banners and boos, animosity that stems from an incident last year when the gloveman mocked Bayern.
In the past, Wenger has refused to meet the outrageous wage demands of today's top stars but he's now realised that if Arsenal are to end their six-year trophy drought he'll have to put his principles to one side – and he looks set to start with Neuer.
Another target of Arsenal’s is reported to be Bolton centre-back Gary Cahill but according to the News of the World they now face stiff competition from Manchester City.
The Sunday tabloid claims the Sky Blues are about to offer Bolton £15 million for the 25-year-old defender, along with Shaun Wright-Phillips as an additional sweetner. The NoW says City are desperate to offload Wright-Phillips because of his £80,000-a-week pay packet and they will look to give him to Bolton while taking Cahill in exchange, a player the Sky Blues believe will significantly strengthen their suspect defence.
But if City are hopeful of adding Cahill to their squad next season they are struggling to hang on to Carlos Tevez. At least, that’s what the Mirror claims in a report that says Chelsea are lining up a £40 million bid for the Argentine frontman.
It's alleged that the Blues have told "super-agent" Pini Zahavi to stop at nothing to bring Tevez to the Bridge so that he can restore life to the once great Fernando Torres. The Spaniard – who's scored just once in 15 appearances since moving to Chelsea in January – desperately needs some help up front and apparently Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich believes the 27-year-old Tevez would form a lethal partnership with Torres.
But the Mirror says City are determined to keep Tevez and quotes manager Roberto Mancini as saying: "I will fight for every player who wants to stay here - whether it is Carlos or another player."
Elsewhere, the People says that if Manchester United are serious about snapping up midfielder Wesley Sneijder then they'll have to cough up £85 million. According to the tabloid, United boss Alex Ferguson is an unabashed admirer of the 26-year-old Dutchman and will do whatever it takes to bring him to Old Trafford.
That could mean handing over £35m to Inter and then paying Sneijder an annual wage of £10m over five years. Whether or not the United board would stomach such a deal remains to be seen but the People says Fergie will do his best to convince them that Sneijder is the long-term replacement for the declining Paul Scholes.
Finally, the Telegraph says that United are on a collision course with Manchester City over Udinese winger Alexis Sanchez. The 22-year-old Chilean has allegedly been in discussions with the Sky Blues about a move to Eastlands but, according to the Telegraph, United have "made a dramatic late swoop" for the South American and are prepared to better City’s offer of £26.5m.
The Telegraph says that Sanchez's representatives met with City officials on Friday to finalise a deal but that subsequently they also sat down with a negotiation team from Old Trafford. It's claimed that Sanchez's preference is for United but that it may come down to which club offers more. City were reportedly ready to hand over £26.5m but figures as high as £35m are now being bandied about for a player who came to prominence during last year’s World Cup. ·
