[size=small]Arsenal have launched a shock move to sign Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini on a free transfer after he rejected two contract offers to remain at Old Trafford.
[/size]
[size=small]The thought of Fellaini signing for the Gunners would have seemed unthinkable under former manager Arsene Wenger, given his age and playing style, but times have changed and the new recruitment team at the Emirates Stadium see the appeal in adding him to the squad.
[/size]
[size=small]It is believed new Arsenal boss Unai Emery had been keen to sign the Belgium international when he was Paris Saint Germain manager and his representatives are due to meet with club officials this week. The fact he is available on a free transfer is also attractive to Arsenal given they are understood to have a transfer budget of just £50m this summer after spending heavily in the last two transfer windows.Arsenal’s head of recruitment Sven Mislintat appears to agree with Emery regarding Fellaini’s appeal and the 30-year-old will be looking to improve on the one-year contract, worth £80,000-a-week, that he has turned down at Manchester United.
[/size]According to sources in France, Fellaini would prefer to sign for Arsenal than move to Italy, where a number of clubs, including AC Milan have an interest, although it is thought he is still negotiating with United as well.
The presence of another Premier League club in the background could well be a tool to leverage a better deal out of his current employers, but Arsenal could well be a more attractive option if he has been promised a key role in a new look team by Emery
[size=small]Although United are set to sign Brazilian midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk in the next 48 hours after he travelled to Manchester for a medical, manager Jose Mourinho has made it clear that he wants to keep Fellaini.
Signed from Everton for £27.5m by David Moyes in the summer of 2013, Fellaini has not always been popular with supporters, even though he has been a key first team player under three different managers at Old Trafford.
Whether Arsenal are able to agree a deal with the player remains to be seen and it is likely that he will delay making a decision until after the World Cup.[/size]
Marouane Fellaini
Fuck off.
I may never forgive Emery if he fields a Fellaini - Xhaka midfield.
He’d be digging a hole before he even started.
Why is a club like Arsenal so poor that we’re having to make do with free transfers.
Towering Fellaini header to beat Mourinho’s United in the final minutes incoming
Being widely reported now. I sincerely hope we're being used as a bargaining chip.
Oh really? If Emery actually rated Fellaini, PSG would have bought it no prob.
Please god no.
Fellaini done. Michu next. Blimey.
Sokratis, Fellaini and Lichtsteiner will undo any goodwill that the club have generated these past few weeks.
I was fine with 1 or 2 of them as a budget signing but this is quickly looking like the new recruitment policy.
Couldn't we just get N'zonzi.
Shoot me.
This is why we watch football. Will fill me with pride to see his fine mop of hair flying through the midfield every weekend
Mirth wrote:Sokratis, Fellaini and Lichtsteiner will undo any goodwill that the club have generated these past few weeks.
I was fine with 1 or 2 of them as a budget signing but this is quickly looking like the new recruitment policy.
It's not even a budget signing considering the wages he'll be on
For fuck sake
Mirth wrote:Sokratis, Fellaini and Lichtsteiner will undo any goodwill that the club have generated these past few weeks.
I was fine with 1 or 2 of them as a budget signing but this is quickly looking like the new recruitment policy.
They've said so themselves, that we were looking to sign established players to steady the ship.
Struggling to find the article right now....will try to dig it up.....looks like it's per Ornstein:
"[size=large]Arsenal close to signing Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Dortmund. Latest acquisition led by Sven Mislintat, continues drive to rebuild defence/squad with experience/leadership. [/size][size=large]#AFC[/size][size=large] prioritising ready players & will integrate youth (eg Mavropanos) over time"[/size]
Problem is, these players may steady the ship but in doing so we'll just continue to flounder in 5th/6th place.
Don't know if it actually needs to be pointed out, but we haven't signed any of these guys yet. Just kick back and relax people. Whatever we do there's no way the squad is gonna be as shitty as it was last summer.
I remember being at the Emirates watching Fellaini for Everton and being very impressed
He doesn’t get recognised as much as he should
Don't think getting recognized is his issue....
MistaT wrote:Mirth wrote:Sokratis, Fellaini and Lichtsteiner will undo any goodwill that the club have generated these past few weeks.
I was fine with 1 or 2 of them as a budget signing but this is quickly looking like the new recruitment policy.
Problem is, these players may steady the ship but in doing so we'll just continue to flounder in 5th/6th place.
That makes no sense. That's the exact opposite of steadying the ship.