Back of the net
Arsenal have long been the kings of the summer transfer saga.
The time we have spent tracking whether Cesc Fabregas/Patrick Vieira/Robin van Persie/Emmanuel Adebayor/Marc Overmars/Emmanuel Petit would leave or stay in London could really have been put to much better use, building a tree hut made entirely from roadkill or something like that.
But where once the focus was on which of the club’s best players would be leaving for a club who might actually win something, these days the drawn out affair is usually about someone coming into the Emirates.
We’re thinking Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Luis Suarez.
Well here’s the latest in this ongoing series.
Arsenal have moved to pole position to sign Porto striker Jackson Martinez.
The Colombia international looks to be on his way out of Portugal with Arsenal hoping to free up some money by clearing out his squad to fund the almost €40 million move.
According to The Mirror that deadwood takes the form of selfie king Lukas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell, who are all expected to be shown the door with the club hoping to raise at least €15 million from their sale.
Arsenal might be about to make a signing at both ends of the pitch as The Telegraph reports that Petr Cech will almost certainly try and stay in London this summer as he seeks to leave Chelsea.
The goalkeeper is seeking a new club after seeing his role as the club’s dominant No1 usurped by Belgian upstart Thibaut Courtois.
The goalkeeper and his family are settled in London, and has admitted it would be difficult for them to leave the English capital this summer, but he would not rule out a move abroad.
Meanwhile, Robin van Persie is enjoying a well-earned rest this summer after his exploits for both Holland and Manchester United over the last 12 months.
I mean look at him here having a whale of a time in Italy.
Tuesday's Sun back page:
Special Gon#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/bdpjXvz7yB— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 8, 2015
The Dutchman may not just be on holidays for the stunning scenery either, as the Daily Star are reporting that the striker could be on the verge of a €15million move to Juventus.
The former Arsenal man is being lined up as a replacement for Carlos Tevez, and with just a year left on his contract, Manchester United are being tempted by cashing in on a player who has seen a loss of form and a return of various injury problems over the last two seasons.
Meanwhile a forgotten man at Old Trafford is hoping that he can force his way back into the plans of Louis van Gaal next season.
Javier Hernandez spent this season on loan at Real Madrid where he bagged nine goals in 33 games, but he has told Spanish newspaper Marca that he is hopeful of getting some more game time if he returns to England.
The player has said he would also be happy to stay at Real Madrid, but only if he gets to play more regularly under new manager Rafa Benitez.
Two chances Javier.
Several Premier League clubs are likely to be on full alert to make a move for Aston Villa stopper Ron Vlaar after the defender admitted he feels he’s better than his current status with the midlanders.
The Dutch defender is stalling on signing a new contract and the club are anxious that they could lose him to a fellow top flight outfit with the player known to be a favourite of Louis van Gaal’s.
The player is understood to have said that he feels he can ‘can go a step higher’ if he gets a chance to leave Tim Sherwood’s side on a free transfer.
