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Madrid Talks Could See Arsenal Miss Out On £25m Signing
Arsenal could be set to miss out on the signing of £25m-rated midfielder Asier Illarramendi with Real Madrid due to hold talks with Real Sociedad later this week, according to a report by talkSPORT today.
We were heavily linked with a move for the highly-rated midfielder two weeks ago when he played a starring role in Spain’s European Under-21 Championship winning campaign, with boss Arsene Wenger believed to be a huge fan of the 23-year-old’s.
A defensive minded midfielder is believed to be on Wenger’s agenda this summer and talkSPORT suggest Illarramendi features prominently in the managers thoughts.
However, it appears Madrid have stolen a march on us after president Florentino Perez made the youngster a priority signing this summer as they look to bring in a long-term replacement for Xabi Alonso – who is expected to leave the Bernabeu next summer when his contract runs out.
Madrid are now due to hold talks with Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay later this week with a view to securing the players signature, with the deal expected to cost the La Liga giants £25m.
The only stumbling block left is to try and persuade the player to leave his boyhood club, but Madrid is a tempting proposition – particularly for Spanish players – so I’d expect the deal to go through without much trouble.
I’ll be gutted if we do miss out as Illarramendi looks like a top-talent and I could see him fitting in well at the Emirates, although £25m would be a huge outlay for a player who’s only really had one amazing season in La Liga. If Wenger isn’t prepared to pay £22m for Fellaini, I couldn’t see him agreeing to pay £25m for Illarramendi anyway.
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What midfielder would you like to see Arsenal buy this summer? Leave your suggestions below…
yahu
July 3, 2013 at 8:49 pm
I’ll love 2 see fellaini or gonalons playing in arsenal shirt next season…plz mr.AW plz nd plz we’re begging u 2 sign dis players 4 us b4 it’s 2 late…dnt b greedy!
Goonereris
July 4, 2013 at 12:37 pm
“Before it is too late”? Late for what, exactly? It’s not like Fellaini has so many suitors or options, despite his rating. Conclusion: he is not worth £23m! As for Illarramendi, if it is a contest withReal Madrid, any team would lose as that is the dream club of most Spanish players; at the end of the day, Madrid would pay 15m and that would be accepted by his club. Arsenal shouldn’t pay that much for one so untested.