Man City to offer £40m for Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere

On the day Arsenal kept alive their slim title hopes with victory at Blackpool, there was mixed news on the transfer front for Gunners fans. The News of the World claimed that Manchester City are desperate to get their greedy paws on Jack Wilshere and will offer Arsenal £40m for the 19-year-old midfielder.

Apparently the Sky Blues believe the England star is the man to reinvigorate their centre-field creativity and hope to entice Wilshere to Eastlands by offering to double his wages from his current £55,000-a-week deal at the Emirates.

Wilshere has been one of the few players to consistently shine in what has otherwise been another gloomy season for the north London club and Arsenal would be devastated to lose their teenage genius particularly if, as expected, Cesc Fabregas departs to Barcelona in the summer.

On the bright side, the Mail reports that Arsene Wenger is busy sharpening his axe as he prepares to take the chop to his underperforming squad. Among those players under threat are strikers Nicklas Bendtner (linked with an £8m move to Hamburg at the weekend) and Andrey Arshavin, while Denilson, Thomas Rosicky, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Eboue, Abou Diaby and goalkeeper Manuel Almunia are also said to be living on borrowed time.

The Mail goes on to name those players it believes will be targeted by Wenger as he starts to rebuild his squad and the list includes Everton defender Leighton Baines, Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and brilliant Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard.

The Express reports that Tottenham are coming round to the idea of selling Gareth Bale in the summer, realising that they could make a tidy profit on a player who spends a lot of his time injured. The 21-year-old Welshman has suffered from a string of hamstring and back injuries this season and the Express reports that if they receive an offer for Bale in excess of £30m they will sell.

It wasn't so long ago that Spurs boss Harry Redknapp was telling all and sundry that Bale wouldn't be sold for less than £80m but that appears now to have been hot air from Harry.

The Express says that the news has caused great excitement throughout the land with Manchester United and Liverpool already working out the sums; there also remains the possibility that Bale might head overseas, with Inter Milan and Real Madrid mooted as possible destinations.

In other news the Mirror reports that Liverpool might be about to make a move for Brad Friedel, the 39-year-old American who is out of contract at Aston Villa in May. Apparently the Reds' incumbent Pepe Reina is almost certain to quit Anfield in the summer and Kenny Dalglish believes Friedel still has another couple of good years left in him.

With 40-year-old Edwin van der Sar in the form of his life for Manchester United right now, ageing keepers are all the rage though Villa boss Gerard Houllier is hesitating at extending Friedel's current contract.

Finally, the Mail drops a bombshell with its claim that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is having second thoughts about Fernando Torres. Like a little boy with his Christmas train set, Abramovich is tiring of his latest expensive plaything. Apparently the novelty factor has worn off and all the Russian is left with is a £50m Spaniard who hasn't scored a goal in nine games.

The Mail quotes a Chelsea insider saying: "I know the owner is not happy with his investment. He could even sell Torres in the summer, despite having just bought him." ·