Wow, what a few days for transfer speculation as an Arsenal fan. I did a post just a few days ago looking at departures from the club but today I'm back with a much happier blog post looking at potential arrivals to the club. Just a quick note the 'TS' in the blog title stands for transfer season not talk sport. I don't want to be associated with that pathetic excuse of a company. Ha.
I'll start with the man everyone is talking about. Juan Manuel Mata. He's 23 years of age and he graduated from Real Madrid's youth academy. He has scored 33 goals in 129 appearances for Valencia and if rumours are true he is heading to the Emirates stadium. There are lots of contrasting reports regarding the whole deal but apparently Arsenal have bid 13.5million which could rise to around £18million. According to @DarrenArsenal1 on twitter (a must follow for arsenal news), Mata's agent WAS in London yesterday talking to Arsenal representatives. However Guillem Balague, the Spanish reporter, has denied this and the Valencia sporting director was quoted as saying:
"We have not received any offers for him so far"
Confused? Like any Arsenal transfers there is a lot of debate over whether or not this is actually going to happen but the signs do look very good. Mata is seen as an ideal replacement for either Fabregas or Nasri and with the amount of speculation surrounding him and a move away from Spain at the moment, there's no reason why Arsenal can't secure his signature. He wants Champions League football so that effectively rules out any move to Tottenham as reported. Despite the confusion over whether or not we have actually bid for the player the interest is definitely there and don't be surprised to see the explosive winger in the red and white of Arsenal next season.
My other story today involves the ongoing defensive saga and Wenger's search for an experienced centre back. Names have been thrown about so many times over the past month or so but one long term target, Christopher Samba, has seemingly tried to distance himself from a move to Arsenal. Previously, the Congolese centre back had been quoted as saying, 'At the minute I am still at Blackburn but it would be a big lie if I told you 'everything is good and I don't want to play in the Champions League'. This had seemingly paved the way for a bid from Arsene Wenger but the Rovers captain has been quick to deny these comments on his twitter account saying "I'm a Rovers player and will never mention other clubs - it's disrespectful. Not happy right now."
For now this seems to have ruled out the possibility of securing Christoper Samba in the short term but Wenger will still have other targets in mind. It has become quite clear he would prefer someone with premier league experience but don't be surprised if eventually he looks abroad again. He seems hesitant in returning with an improved bid for Phil Jagielka and very recently Bolton have made it quite clear they have received no offers for Gary Cahill.
I'll be back with any more transfer news as soon as I hear of it. For now, here's hoping we can secure the signing of Juan Mata!
Joe (@Tilley_96)
For now this seems to have ruled out the possibility of securing Christoper Samba in the short term but Wenger will still have other targets in mind. It has become quite clear he would prefer someone with premier league experience but don't be surprised if eventually he looks abroad again. He seems hesitant in returning with an improved bid for Phil Jagielka and very recently Bolton have made it quite clear they have received no offers for Gary Cahill.
I'll be back with any more transfer news as soon as I hear of it. For now, here's hoping we can secure the signing of Juan Mata!
Joe (@Tilley_96)
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