Papiss Demba Cisse snubs Fulham for the Gunners

Papiss Demba Cisse, it's a name to conjure with and it's a name that might soon be heard at the Emirates according to Goal.com. The respected website says that Arsenal are closing in on the SC Freiburg striker with a view to signing next month for approximately £10m. The 25-year-old Senegal international has been in fine form in the Bundesliga this season, topping the scoring charts with 13 goals so far and earning plaudits for his predatory instincts.

Fulham have been linked with Cisse but Goal.com claims that they’ve spoken to one of his representatives and they’ve pooh-poohed a move to a club of such modest means. “Fulham is not an option,” said the unnamed source, adding: “All respect to the club, regardless of whether they can afford him, he wouldn’t want to go... but Arsenal certainly interests him [because] Cisse is worthy of Champions League football, that is what he's aiming for.”

Cisse came to prominence in the top flight of French football with the Metz club before moving to Freiburg last year. Goal.com says the German club are aware of Arsenal’s interest and general manager Dirk Dufner is quoted as saying that Cisse “has a contract with our club until June 2014 and he is a key player within our first team. However, I feel that it will be a challenge to keep Papiss here".

A couple of former Arsenal players are angling for moves back to the Premier League, according to reports, though understandably neither seems particularly keen to rejoin the Gunners, not now that they spend most of their time either losing or whining about soggy pitches. Tottenham is apparently the preferred choice for José Antonio Reyes, the 27-year-old winger who left the Gunners in 2007 for Atletico Madrid. The Spanish media say that Spurs have been making enquiries about Reyes and negotiations are ongoing, with Madrid reported to be reluctant to sell.

Talksport reckons that former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Lassana Diarra is considering leaving Real Madrid after failing to win over Jose Mourinho since his arrival at the Bernabeu in the summer. Spurs, who seem to grow ever more promiscuous, are rumoured to be eyeing up the 25-year-old Frenchman, while Manchester United haven’t ruled him out of their plans.

As for the player himself, Diarra said recently: "We will have to see what happens with my future. I am focused on the next game, what happens next, God will tell.” Whether by God he meant the Almighty or Mourinho remains to be seen, but either way it’s likely that Diarra’s immediate future is out of his hands.

German website 4-4-2 asserts that Manchester City have pipped Liverpool to the signature of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez by offering Ajax £30m for the 23-year-old. The Dutch club are strapped for cash right now and have allegedly accepted the offer, though it will be a wrench to part company with Suarez. He’s already scored 11 times this season, continuing the red-hot form that he displayed for his country during their impressive World Cup outing in June.
 
Finally, as The First Post reported last week, Liverpool are chasing Rod Fanni, the Rennes right-back whose name could have come straight from the pages of Viz. It had seemed that the Reds were on the verge of losing out to Marseille but that deal looks to be dead in the water, which is good news for the Merseyside club who see the 29-year-old Fanni as a replacement for the unsettled Glen Johnson.

In an interview with French radio station RMC, Marseille chairman Jean-Claude Dassier said of the proposed deal to sign Fanni: “Today we can only be pessimistic. Fanni's agent is being irrational and it is doubtful a deal will now be done. I can't see any way it could be completed, except if the player decides to conduct himself in a reasonable way." ·