Barcelona Prepare £20.8m Bid for Arsenal Striker Robin Van Persie

Spanish source Sport have revealed today that Barcelona believe they can sign Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie for €25m (£20.8m) and that they will join fellow La Liga giants Real Madrid in the race for the Dutch international this summer. Sport feel that the North London club will not risk losing the player for a reduced rate next January or indeed seeing the 28 year old leave for nothing at the end of the 2012/13 season and may well then look to cash in on their skipper if he refuses to sign a new contract at the end of the season.

Having seen his side fall some distance behind their Bernabeu rivals Nou Camp boss Pep Guardiola may well feel he could do with an attacking injection as his side currently relies very heavily on Lionel Messi for goal-scoring output. The Argentine has notched up 43 goals in all competitions and the club’s next highest scorer, former Arsenal man Cesc Fabregas, is way behind with 15.Spanish international David Villa had been a fairly inconsistent performer prior to his season ending injury, suffered at the FIFA World Club Cup, and that may have led Guardiola to consider alternative striking options.Van Persie has been in fine form over the past 18 months and having suffered with injury concerns for the first few years of his Gunners career the former Feyenoord man has now become Arsenal’s most prized asset and Wenger will hope that he can persuade his captain to sign a new contract but having seen the club go seven seasons without silverware a move to the Catalan club may prove very tempting indeed.Real Madrid’s reported interest may also appeal and it’s certainly true that Jose Mourinho doesn’t have a great many orthodox striking options to select from at present with his only two recognised strikers coming in the form of Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain, and Van Persie would appear to be a more attractive prospect than the players in the ‘Special One’s’ Bernabeu armoury.Arsenal supporters have grown frustrated at the club’s reluctance to spend freely on new additions and even after the loss of first team regulars Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy, Wenger only used a small portion of funds made from sales on players who have failed to fill the void created by their departures.

AC Milan Injury Blow Gives Arsenal Champions League Hope

Injury-plagued AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato has suffered another setback after tearing a thigh muscle, the Serie A leaders announced on Thursday.The 22-year-old has made 17 appearances for the Rossoneri this season, scoring four goals, but .The injury is expected to sideline the Brazilian for at least a fortnight.It is Pato’s 13th muscle complaint in the past two years, illustrating a rather concerning record for the Rossoneri, and subsequently offering clear explanation for AC Milan’s less than committed approach to keeping him in the last two transfer windows.Paris Saint-Germain were thought to be the most interested of all the teams, with Pato’s former boss in Milan Carlo Ancelotti now in charge of the French capital side and Ligue 1 leaders.Whether or not Pato signs elsewhere in the summer, he is an AC Milan player for the immediate future – although won’t be setting foot on the field for the next few weeks.Pato is ruled out of the second leg of Milan’s Champions League round of 16 tie against Arsenal in London on March 6th, though they seemed to perform all right without him in the first leg.AC Milan triumphed 4-0 that night, and it would take a preposterously extraordinary performance from Arsene Wenger and his team to ensure progression at Emirates Stadium.Still, Zlatan Ibrahimovic never plays well against English teams does he?Right?

Leeds eyes Robbo move

Leeds boss Neil Warnock has made defensive reinforcements his top priority since taking over at Elland Road and Robinson is on his list of targets.LFTN understands Leeds have made an enquiry about taking Bolton defender Paul Robinson on loan.Robinson is thought to be available on loan this month after finding himself down the pecking order at the Reebok Stadium in recent weeks.This news has alerted a host of Championship clubs to Robinson's availability, with Southampton and Burnley also expressing an interest in the full-back.However, Leeds are hoping to steal a march on their Championship rivals by luring Robinson to Elland Road as Warnock looks to bolster his squad before this weekend's visit of high-flying Southampton.

Robinson to fight for place... Coyle confirms Bolton full-back has attracted loan interest

Robinson has made 20 appearances in all competitions for the Trotters this season, but has not featured in the Premier League since Boxing Day.Owen Coyle has confirmed Paul Robinson is happy to fight for his place at Bolton Wanderers after attracting loan interest from Championship clubs.We revealed earlier this week that new Leeds United manager Neil Warnock was weighing up a move for Robinson as he seeks to improve his defence.Burnley and Southampton have also shown an interest in the 33-year-old, who is out of contract at the Reebok Stadium at the end of the season.Bolton boss Coyle admits the left-back is a wanted man, but is currently prepared to push Sam Ricketts for a spot in the starting line-up.Coyle said: "There has been interest from a couple of clubs and I have made Paul aware of that.

"But he is happy to battle away here for his place and that is where we are."

Liverpool Midfielder On Verge of Completing Serie A Move

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani is close to completing a permanent move to loan side Ac Milan, according to the player’s agent.
The Italy international joined the Serie A champions on a season-long deal last summer, and his representative, Franco Zavaglia, says he will be a ‘Milan player in all respects’ once he has made five more appearances for the club.
Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb.com, Zavaglia said: “It’s all written in the contract.
“Once Alberto has made 25 appearances [he has already made 20] for the Rossoneri, he will be a Milan player in all respects.”
Aquilani is currently sidelined with an ankle injury, but Zavaglia believes the midfielder will return to full fitness next month.
“He’s progressing very well – I hope he can return in mid-March,” he added.
The 27-year-old joined Liverpool from Roma for £20m in the summer of 2009, but a succession of injuries and the arrival of several new midfielders prevented him fromestablishing himself as a first-team fixture at Anfield.There must be a nagging regret with both the Liverpool hierarchy and Anfield supporters that things didn’t quite work out with Alberto Aquilani. The Italian international was purchased whilst injured, never a good idea, and was therefore always playing catch up and though the Merseyside club have a number of central midfield options one wonders if the the 27 year old former Roma man would make it into Kenny Dalglish’s starting eleven.Though Aquilani cost Liverpool £20m a large portion of that fee remains unpaid as there were incremental clauses that have never been reached, perhaps this is why the midfielder has spent the last couple of seasons out on loan.There is no doubting Aquilani’s pedigree and the soon to be Ac Milan man will almost certainly be on his way to the Euro 2012 finals, but under Rafa Benitez his time was marred by a lack of confidence shown in his ability, by the man who opted to bring him to the club in the first place, very odd.Aquilani has helped his side to the top of Serie A, where they face a real dogfight with the side the Liverpool man was on loan at last term, Juventus, for the title.Liverpool brought in the likes of Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson in the summer to boost their midfield options, though one could argue that Aquilani is as effective, if not more so, than the Scottish and English internationals.

Arsenal Set to Sign £5m Argentine On Pre-Contract Agreement

Arsenal close to wrapping up second pre-contract agreement
Arsenal fans will be pleased to hear that their club appear to be gaining momentum in regards to their transfer activity after it emerged that the club may have made their second major transfer step in the space of a week.

It came out only two days ago that Lukas Podolski is reported to have signed a pre-contract agreement at the Emirates Stadium and will join the Gunner at the end of the season.

However, long-term target Matias Suarez is also reported to have agreed a similar deal with the club after months of Arsenal interest.

The 23 year-old was being linked with a winter move to the Premier League giants but opted to remain at Anderlecht as he did not want to abandon the club in the middle of their season.

The striker looks set to move on from the Jupiler League in the summer, and the Emirates Stadium remains his most likely destination.

Matias Suarez has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium for some months and this source appears to believe a deal has already been struck that will see the 23 year old Argentine move to Arsenal this summer, where he may well be joined by Lukas Podolski, another player said to be nearing a move to the North London club.

The Cordoba born adaptable attacker has been a consistent performer for the past three seasons, notching up 42 goals and 34 assists from 139 appearances for Anderlecht, proving instrumental in the Brussels club’s title winning success of 2009/10.

Arsene Wenger is looking for alternative attacking options having seen both Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho fail to make a consistent impact. Andrei Arshavin has gone off the boil and has been loaned out to Zenit with the very real prospect of moving back to Russia on a permanent basis, leaving space for a player like Suarez.

The Argentine is yet to win a full national team cap but is nonetheless a top notch performer and picking up the intelligent attacker for just £5m would prove a real bargain. Suarez can play either out on the wing or as an orthodox striker.