Arsene Wenger will act quickly to replace exit bound duo Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri by signing Valencia’s Juan Mata and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Jadson.
Barcelona look to have finally succeeded in their pursuit of Cesc Fabregas with a package worth around £35million, and a deal is expected to be completed by the weekend.
While Manchester City will complete the £22m signing of Nasri in the next 48hours, which could leave Wenger bereft ahead of their opener at Newcastle on Saturday.
The French tactician is working hastily behind the scenes to replace his creative midfielders and will act firstly by signing Valencia playmaker Juan Mata for £25m.
According to Spanish reports, the Gunners had a deal in place to buy the Spain midfielder for roughly £18million last month, and the player had agreed to the move.
But no payment was received before the deadline for a rumoured buy-out clause in his contract – meaning Mata’s stipulated value increased to £28million.
Speculation suggested the Gunners didn’t want to complete the purchase before finalising the sale of Fabregas to Barcelona.
However, with Fabregas now heading back to Catalonia, Arsenal have rekindled their interest in Mata, with cash-strapped Valencia willing to accept a fee in the region £25m despite the higher valued release clause.
Meanwhile discussions with Shakhtar have already begun over the transfer of Brazilian midfielder Jadson, with the Ukrainian outfit demanding £10m.
The 27-year-old attacker has been a stand out performer for the Ukrainian club since making his move from Atletico-PR in the summer of 2005 and has helped the club win five league titles.
Wenger hopes of capturing both players before the opening game of the season are slim, but he is optimistic that he will have both available for the Gunners’ game against Liverpool on August 20.
Recent transfer activity regarding Fabregas and Nasri was sparked when Arsenal included the pair in their squad to feature in the Champions League qualifier against Udinese on Tuesday.
The pair’s involvement in the match would have ruled them out of the Champions League for the season, which would seriously hinder any proposed deals.
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