Arsenal ‘offer £12m for PSG’s Mamadou Sakho’

Arsenal have allegedly made an offer for Paris Saint Germain defender Mamadou Sakho according to France Football magazine. The 21-year-old Sakho, who made his debut for France last year, has been on the Gunners' radar for several months and it's said they've offered PSG £12m for the highly-rated youngster.

Apparently Arsenal acted after hearing of Liverpool's interest in Sakho and boss Arsene Wenger is determined he'll land Sakho ahead of the Reds, as well as Barcelona and Barcelona, both of whom have also expressed an interest.

Sakho came through the PSG academy system and won his first cap for France in November against England. France Football says the Paris club has rejected Arsenal’s initial offer but is likely to sell if the Londoners come back with a bid closer to £15m.

The battle for Sakho's signature could be the first of many between Arsenal and Liverpool this summer. Kenny Dalglish's close-season shopping list features the names of several players also coveted by Arsene Wenger, whose transfer activity last year failed to plug any of the gaps in his squad.

Lyon's French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who has been linked to the Gunners for the best part of a year, and Rennes defensive midfielder Yann M'Vila, an Arsenal target as recently as last week, could both be asked to choose between Anfield and the Emirates once the season ends.

Talking of Arsenal it seems that Cesc Fabregas could be inching towards the exit door. He looked less than happy on Sunday against Liverpool and in his latest interview with Spanish magazine Don Balon appeared to turn on manager Arsene Wenger, pointing out in no uncertain times that in Spain a manager who had not won a trophy for six seasons would be out of a job.

He also warned the manager: "A decision has to be made: to go out to win or to develop players." All of which suggests that Fabregas might regret giving the Gunners one more season when he elected to stay in London last summer and that he is looking forward to moving back to Spain and Barcelona in the summer.

Meanwhile Talksport claims that Manchester United and Liverpool are both vying to sign Belgian midfielder Steven Defour. The 23-year-old has been coveted by Alex Ferguson for the past couple of seasons and with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs now in the twilight of their careers it seems the United boss is set to make his move for the Standard Liege midfielder. But apparently Liverpool are preparing an offer of £9m for Defour and now it depends on what United are prepared to bid

Still with United, CSKA winger Mark Gonzalez has expressed his desire to move to Old Trafford in the summer. The 26-year-old first tasted life in the Premier League with Liverpool in 2006 but things didn't work out on Merseyside and he left after just one season.

Now, however, the Chilean is older and wiser and apparently ready to have another crack at English football. United are apparently monitoring Gonzalez and the thought of a possible move to the English champions-elect is a mouthwatering one.  

"It would be a dream to have the chance to join Manchester United," Gonzalez said in an interview with Chilean broadcaster ADN Radio. "We all know the quality that the team has and of course I would like to play in England again, even more at a team like Manchester United."

Ashley Young has again hinted that he might be open to offers next month after refusing to sign a new contract with Aston Villa. The England midfielder has a year to run on his contract but for the past few months there's been speculation the 25-year-old might move to a bigger club.

United, Liverpool and Spurs have all been mentioned as possible destinations and for the moment Young is weighing up his options. "I've always said that I'm going to speak to the manager [Gerard Houllier] and the chairman [Randy Lerner] in the summer," said Young. "I'm just concentrating 100 per cent on my football and we will speak at the end of the season."

If Young does end up at Spurs he could be supplying crosses for the head of Dimitar Berbatov, according to the respectable website caughtoffside.com. It claims Harry Redknapp is pondering a £20m bid for the former Tottenham striker, who left under something of a cloud in 2008. However, with his hair rapidly disappearing and his place in the United starting XI under threat from Javier Hernandez the 30-year-old apparently fancies a return to his old stamping ground.

Alex Ferguson may also be interested in selling him, if he can get Gareth Bale in return. Unsurprisingly Redknapp would rather just pay cash.

Finally Swedish website Fotbollskanalen.se. says that both Chelsea and Spurs are keeping tabs on 21-year-old AIK Solna star Mohamed Bangura.

The pacy striker, who made his national debut for Sierra Leone last year, is apparently being eyed up by the two London clubs, or at least that's what his agent says. Speaking to Fotbollskanalen.se, Patrik Mork said: "It is pretty obvious that clubs are looking at him... He is absolutely ready. The next question is, of course, what step to take." ·