Arsene Wenger is reportedly interested in bringing the Blackpool number one goalkeeper, Matt Gilks to the Emirates, while the Blackpool manager Ian Holloway seems resigned to losing Gilks in the near future after he accepted that there is no way Blackpool can compete in wage terms.
The Blackpool boss said:
“With the wages we pay, there’s only so long I can hold them. Matt is out of contract next summer and at the moment that is something he wants to be.
“If I can’t nail him down I’ll have to find someone else and I’ve got till January to try and convince him to stay, because he can sign a pre-contract somewhere else in January.
“Matt probably feels a bit aggrieved with how much he is on. What he is trying to do is play himself into a better position in his life, so he commands a bit more respect and a better wages.”
Arsenal have much more money to spend on wages than the newly promoted Blackpool, and this as well as playing for one of the top clubs in the best League in the world will both be major factors in his decision. As his contract expires at the end of the season, he could leave on a free transfer, however Blackpool would be upset if they couldn’t get any money with a possible sale from the 28-year-old.
A move for him in January would be convenient for both parties as Arsenals Manuel Almunia has been told he can leave with Spanish team Malaga interested. Gilks then added some more substance to the rumour with this:
“The Premier League is the league in the world to play in and that’s what I want to do,”
“Obviously I’m out of contract at the end of the season and I don’t think we’re close to getting anything sorted. If I have to move on, hopefully it will be to another Premier League club because I need to stay in the league.”
The former Rochdale and Norwich shot-stopper is currently out injured with a broken knee cap, but is expected to return in the new year, the question is, when he returns, will he be playing at Bloomfield Road, or the Emirates?
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Submitted by DBS Football
