Arsenal transfer news: Wilshere Bournemouth move makes sense

Midfielder heads to the South Coast for the season as Gnabry quits Gunners - all the latest Arsenal transfer news and gossip

Jack Wilshere
(Image credit: Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Arsenal transfer news: Jamie Vardy snub as Man Utd eye Aaron Ramsey

23 June

Arsenal fans know the feeling of missing out on a big transfer all too well. They will be experiencing the familiar pangs of disappointment today, after Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy signed a new deal with his team - three weeks after the Gunners triggered the release clause in his contract and then failed to persuade him to move to the Emirates.

In a statement, the Foxes said the 29-year-old England forward had agreed a four-year contract extension. "Both parties hope that this announcement will end recent speculation regarding Jamie's future," they added.

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The news "is a major blow to Arsenal, who had hoped to wrap up a quick deal for Vardy before he joined up with the England squad", reports ESPN.

But is there more bad news on the horizon for Gunners fans? It depends on your view of Theo Walcott. The winger, whose efforts to convince the world he can play as a striker have so far fallen flat, was expected to be surplus to requirements after the arrival of Vardy but is now expected to remain in London.

"Walcott is willing to stay and fight for his place at Arsenal for at least another season despite the interest from Liverpool and [Manchester] City," reports the Daily Telegraph.

Meanwhile, manager Arsene Wenger's feud with new Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho could be about to flare up, with The Sun reporting that Gunners midfielder Aaron Ramsey is a shock target for Manchester United.

United are after Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund, but if their offer of £28m is knocked back, Mourinho is "ready to wind up bitter rival Arsene Wenger by targeting the £50m-rated Arsenal star", says the paper.

It adds that the Old Trafford manager believes Ramsey, who has impressed at Euro 2016, can become "Manchester United’s answer to Frank Lampard".

Arsenal transfer news: £65m for Alvaro Morata as PSG circle Alexis Sanchez

22 June

Arsenal's campaign to buy Alvaro Morata just got a whole lot more complicated, reports Caughtoffside.com, after Juventus general director Beppe Marotta confirmed that Real Madrid intend to re-purchase the 23-year-old frontman this summer.

It has been one of the longer-lasting transfer sagas of the year, with Morata's value increasing every time he finds the net for the Italian champions, who he joined from Madrid in 2014, or Spain.

Real inserted a buy-back clause, believed to be around the £23m mark, into his contract before selling Morata and Beppe Marotta has told reporters in Italy that the European champions "will exercise their right to repurchase” the player. He added that Juventus expect Real's "offer in writing in the coming days", and said the club has already started looking for a replacement striker.

As for what Real's decision might mean for the Gunners, Spanish rag Marca claims that they will slap a £65m price tag on Morata, more than twice what they are reportedly paying Juventus to bring him back to the Spanish capital. Caughtoffside says Arsenal may baulk at paying such a sum, as may any other club interested in buying the young forward.

But the Gunners may feel compelled to push the boat out if, as the Daily Star claims, Paris Saint-Germain come calling for Alexis Sanchez.

The paper says that the French championss, expected to replace coach Laurent Blanc with former Sevilla boss Unai Emery this month, are lining up a swoop for the Chilean frontman, and also have designs on Juan Mata from Manchester United.

Arsenal transfer news: Romelu Lukaku is new target after Vardy and Sturridge

21 June

Another day, another striker, and this time the Gunners are being linked with Everton hotshot Romelu Lukaku.

According to the Daily Star Arsenal have gone cold on Daniel Sturridge, who they were said to be recently courting, and instead it's the Belgian who has caught the eye of Arsene Wenger. The 23-year-old is widely expected to leave Goodison Park in the coming weeks and while Chelsea made all the early running for his signature, the Star says Arsenal have emerged as genuine contenders in the home straight after missing out on Leicester star Jamie Vardy.

And taking its facts from Italian media outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, the Star says that Wenger's side "have opened talks" with Lukaku. Paris Saint-Germain are also believed to be circling, however, and Everton haven't given up hope of buying his loyalty with a new and improved contract offer.

From the front to the back the Star also claims that Arsenal have made a £15m bid for Napoli ace Elseid Hysaj. The 22-year-old Albanian defender has been on Wenger's radar for a while and though the Nutty Professor is aware he'll face competition from Manchester United and Chelsea the Star says the Frenchman is quietly confident he'll sign Hysai before the new season starts.

But one impressive performance at Euro 2016 does not a transfer saga make and Wenger may have to think again after Hysaj's agent gave an interview to Italian radio station Radio CRC in which he was asked about the transfer rumours: "He is not on the market," said Mario Giuffredi. "I think that Hysaj still has much to prove at Napoli. The city is good and the club want to revise his contract, so I do not understand why he should go away."

Arsenal transfer news: Wenger admits defeat over Jamie Vardy

20 June

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted he's failed in his bid to lure Jamie Vardy to the Emirates.

The Gunners gaffer was being interviewed by Japanese television when the Leicester striker's name arose, reports Goal.com. Asked if he believed triggering his £20m release clause would succeed, Wenger replied: "Jamie Vardy is at the moment at Leicester. And, on what I know, he will stay at Leicester."

Though Vardy refused to answer questions about his future at the weekend, telling the Daily Mail and others, that he was "focused on England and that's all I want to do", Wenger's words confirm recent rumours that the Three Lions frontman is staying put at the King Power Stadium.

But if they can't lure players from Leicester, how about Manchester United? Jose Mourinho is going to have an Old Trafford clearout and Arsenal intend to swoop on one of the Red Devils rejects.

According to the International Business Times, the new United boss is going to hand P45s to Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini, Morgan Schneiderlin and Daley Blind, and it's the latter who is "a transfer target" for Arsene Wenger.

The Frenchman believes the Dutch international, who arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax in the summer of 2014, has the versatility that would go down well at the Emirates. Capable of playing as a defensive midfielder and also as a left-back, Blind was often played as a centre-back by Louis van Gaal.

However, IBT says Mourinho "has doubts over Blind's ability" and he is unlikely to get many opportunities in the new United boss's beefed up defence.

Wenger likes the look of the player, however, and Blind has hinted in an interview with a Dutch media outlet that he could soon be on his way to pastures new, saying: "We will have to wait and see whether anything changes for me."

Arsenal transfer news: £50m Liverpool raid for Sturridge

17 June

Might Daniel Sturridge be repeating his goalscoring heroics at the Emirates next season? The Daily Express thinks so, and so do the bookmakers with Sky Bet installing Arsenal as the 4-1 favourites to sign the 26-year-old frontman.

Paris Saint-Germain have also been mooted as potential suitors for Sturridge, but according to the Express the Gunners have now given up the ghost on Jamie Vardy and are instead poised to make a move for Liverpool striker Sturridge. And they've been boosted in their ambition by PSG's announcement earlier in the week that Edison Cavani has signed a new deal, meaning they're no longer on the lookout for a new goalscorer.

That leaves the door ajar for the Gunners, although The Guardian thinks Liverpool are unlikely to sell Sturridge for anything under £50m. The last time Arsenal tried to raid Anfield, when they bid £40m plus £1 for Luis Suarez in 2013, things did not go well.

According to a report in French paper Le Dauphine, Arsenal target Samuel Umtiti would prefer a move to the Camp Nou over the Emirates. The Lyon defender, on duty with France at the Euros, has been linked with a summer exit and Arsenal and Chelsea have both scouted him this year. But the 22-year-old centre-back told Spanish newspaper Sport that "Barca is a great club, and virtually every player would like to play there". Including him, by all accounts.

Arsenal transfer news: £27m move for Liverpool target Gotze

16 June

Are Arsenal lining up a "sensational" swoop for Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Gotze? The Sun says so, claiming that the Gunners are ready to pay the German champions £27m in return for the player who's fallen out of favour at Bayern because of his alleged wage demands.

Apparently Arsenal "have been forced to move on" from Henrikh Mkhitaryan with the Sun reporting that he "has his heart set on a move to Manchester United". Consequently Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has switched his attention across Germany to Munich and a brazen bid for Gotze, despite rumours linking the playmaker to Liverpool in recent weeks.

Wenger, however, is ready to pay Gotze weekly wages of £110,000 and believes the German international has the skill set to operate either as a striker or a midfielder.

One person who Wenger won't be seeing at the Emirates next season is Uruguayan hitman Edinson Cavani who, as Talksport reports, has ended talk of a move to Arsenal "by signing a big-money contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain".

Manchester United had also been mooted as a possible destination for the 29-year-old frontman but according to Sky Italia the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic has prompted Cavani to pen a new contract that will keep him in the French capital until 2020 and earn him a reported £6m-a-year.

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