“The transfer period demands secrets and confidentiality,” says Wenger as links to Liverpool’s Suarez grow.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has refused to comment on speculation linking the club with Liverpool’s Luis Suarez.
The Gunners reportedly had a £30m offer for the unsettled striker rejected by Liverpool last week and the Frenchman was quizzed about about a second bid on the club’s arrival in Indonesia for a pre-season tour.
“Suarez? As you know the transfer period demands secrets and confidentiality, so I can’t answer the question,” Wenger told a press conference including the Daily Mirror’s John Cross.
Naturally, the media have leapt on Wenger’s refusal to rule out a move for the 26-year-old Uruguayan but there may be some truth in the link, with BBC journalist David Ornstein claiming the Gunners are keen to sign one of Suarez and Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain.
Arsenal pursuing Higuain & Suarez in hope of signing one. No fee agreed on Higuain, probably need to pay £40m release clause for Suarez #afc
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) July 12, 2013
Higuain is due to meet new Real boss Carlo Ancelotti in the next week to discuss his future, with the Italian thought to be keen to keep the Argentine at the club.
While Arsenal fans will undoubtedly be excited with reports linking the club with Suarez, Wenger would have to more than double the Gunners’ existing record transfer fee – the £16m paid for Andrei Arshavin – to sign the Uruguay international, which seems farfetched.
For his part, Suarez has made no secret of his desire to leave Anfield this summer and originally blamed intrusion from the British press for forcing him out of the UK. With this in mind, a move to Arsenal would infuriate the Liverpool hierarchy and fanbase alike.
But, various reports claimed this week that Suarez’s agent, Pere Guardiola, had told the club that his client wants to play Champions League football next term, which suggests the use of media was merely a bargaining chip for the former Ajax star, who could yet end up at the Emirates Stadium.
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