Chelsea In Talks to Sign Another Former Arsenal Man: £10m Deal Discussed

Having completed the signing of former Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas it appears that Jose Mourinho is looking to bring in another former Arsenal man with the Metro claiming that Chelsea boss is ready to make a £10m bid for Cameroon international Alex Song.

The 26 year old is one of a host of player incoming Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is ready to offload and want £10m for the tough tackler.

Mourinho is ready to sell John Obi Mikel and sees Song as the man to challenge Serbian Nemanja Matic next season with Chelsea hopeful of signing the midfielder this summer.

Song enjoyed seven seasons at the Emirates Stadium before moving to Barcelona in August 2012 but has never been a first team regular, with Spanish international Sergio Busquets being the club’s regular defensive midfield starter.

Jose Mourinho may well look to make a number of summer signings but will no doubt look to balance the books with player sales in the same manner in which he operated in the January transfer window.

Chelsea have already banked almost £50m from the sale of David Luiz to PSG.

Article taken from: http://www.caughtoffside.com/2014/06/13/chelsea-in-talks-to-sign-another-former-arsenal-man-10m-deal-discussed/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chelsea-in-talks-to-sign-another-former-arsenal-man-10m-deal-discussed

Arsenal and Chelsea are said to have been interested in the player.

The agent of Wilfried Bony has said he is now worth £20 million, a summer after Newcastle United could have signed him for half the price.

Bony had an impressive first season in the Premier League for Swansea City having scored 26 goals in 48 games in all competitions for the Swans. 

Dalibor Lacina is quoted in FourFourTwo, saying: “The next step for Bony is a top six team in England or a top team in Germany, Spain or France, or he will stay with Swansea."

Both Arsenal and Chelsea have been amongst several Premier League clubs linked with a move for the Ivory Coast international but Lacina also revealed that Newcastle missed out on the chance to sign the player last summer, when Bony opted for a move to South Wales. 

“I spoke to Newcastle about Bony last summer. Newcastle should have bought Bony a year ago, but they didn’t believe in him.

“They could have signed him for £10 million, but they said they weren’t sure if he was good enough, that he was only playing in Holland."

Arsenal are said to be in the market for a new striker to both provide competition, and to support Olivier Giroud up front, whilst Chelsea are still said to be after improving their forward line with Diego Costa due to join the club from Atletico Madrid this summer. 

Lacina criticised Newcastle for lacking ambition and given how he performed last term, there will be some Newcastle fans wishing the hierachy had sanctioned the offer, in order for them to try and push on in the top half of the Premier League.

Swansea will be determined to keep hold of the 25-year-old they signed from Vitesse Arnhem last summer, but after the season he had they are going to have a fight on their hands. 

Article taken from: http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/06/13/ib-next-step-for-bony-is-a-top-six-team-as-agent-claims-he-could/?

Jose Mourinho refuses to sell Petr Cech to Arsenal

Jose Mourinho has told Chelsea officials to make sure Petr Cech is not sold to Arsenal should he be forced to sell the goalkeeper,reports Spanish newspaper AS.

The Chelsea manager is currently in the process of trying to convince Thibaut Courtois to return to the club and compete with Cech for the number one spot. Courtois has spent three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid and isn't willing to return unless first team football is guaranteed.

It may, therefore, become impossible for Mourinho to bring back Courtois and also keep Cech at the club, meaning he may have to sell the 31-year-old after 10-years as Chelsea's first choice 'keeper.

Currently boasting a basic wage of £100,000-a-week, there are few clubs who would be able to afford signing Cech, and one of the only big clubs currently looking for a new goalkeeper are Chelsea's London rivals Arsenal.

The Gunners find themselves with just one recognised goalkeeper in their squad following the departure of Lukasz Fabianski and Emiliano Viviano. Although Wojciech Szczesny is thought of highly, Arsene Wenger is keen to provide Szczesny with some quality competition in an attempt to inspire the Pole to improve.

Cech would be perfect for such a role and Arsenal would be able to afford his wages as well as Chelsea's asking price should he become available. Wenger has been given £100m to spend of transfers and wages, making Cech's £100,000-a-week wage easy to absorb.

However, in a similar situation to that of Demba Ba, Mourinho will refuse to see one of Chelsea's players for a direct Premier League rival and has vetoed any suggestion of selling the Czech Republic international to the Gunners.

Mourinho cancelled a deal that would have seen Ba join Arsenal on loan at the last minute on transfer deadline day in September 2013 but Mourinho won't even consider talking to Arsenal regarding Cech.

It remains to be seen whether or not Cech will have any other takers apart from the Gunners. It may be possible that Mourinho's reluctance to sell Cech to Arsenal will cause Courtois to spend another season away from Stamford Bridge in La Liga as Cech being in the squad seems to be the only thing standing between Courtois and his Chelsea debut.

Article taken from: http://www.givemesport.com/473198-jose-mourinho-refuses-to-sell-petr-cech-to-arsenal?autoplay=on

Arsenal prioritise three new signings over Cesc Fabregas deal

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has turned down the chance to bring former captain Cesc Fabregas back to the Emirates in order to pursue signings at right-back, centre-forward, goalkeeper and possibly even a top addition in a holding midfield role, according to BBC Sport.

Fabregas has been deemed surplus to requirements by new Barcelona manager Luis Enrique and made available in a deal worth €33m, leading the vast majority of Gunners fans to clamour for Wenger to use Arsenal's buy-back clause and re-sign the Spanish international in a marquee deal.

Wenger has decided Fabregas is an extravagance he can't justify though and decided to concentrate on strengthening the areas of team lacking in numbers and quality, ultimately viewing Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky as options aplenty in an attacking midfield role.

After failing to persuade Bacary Sagna and Lukasz Fabianski to stay in North London for next season Wenger first wants to make sure there is adequate cover in the two areas now left blank, while the Frenchman is also desperate to make sure there is quality cover for Olivier Giroud in attack.

The news will serve as a massive disappointment to Arsenal fans who hoped the potent playmaker's Premier League return would be an emotional reunion with the team he served so capably for eight seasons, before returning to his boyhood club Barca.

At the other end of the spectrum Chelsea now have a clear path to persuade the 27-year-old his future belongs at Stamford Bridge, as a surprise replacement for Frank Lampard.

Barca have instructed their homegrown star to find a new team, but Wenger has refused to bow to fan pressure and enter the race to claim a marquee summer signature.

Article taken from: http://www.givemesport.com/472901-arsenal-prioritise-three-new-signings-over-cesc-fabregas-deal?autoplay=on