Arsenal
Arsenal + Spurs Open Talks With Champions Over Late Move For Serbian International
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have both opened talks with Manchester City about a potential £12million deal for out-of-favour centre-back Matija Nastasic.
Transfer deadline day has arrived and managers are desperately trying to tie-up those last minute deals, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Arsenal and Tottenham open talks about Man City’s Matija Nastasic.
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have both opened talks with Manchester City about a potential deal for out-of-favour centre-back Matija Nastasic, according the the Guardian.
Nastasic arrived at the Eithad Stadium in 2012 with a reputation as one of the best up-and-coming defenders in Europe and he lived up to that tag during his debut season in the Premier League before injury restricted him to just 13 league appearances last year.
The arrival of Eliaquim Mangala from Porto has seen him fall down Manuel Pellegrini’s pecking order and reports suggest the Serbian youngster has now been made available by City as they look to cut their wage bill to help meet Financial Fair Play guidelines.
The Guardian claim that both Arsenal and Tottenham have now contacted the Premier League champions to enquire about his availability, with City making it clear they would prefer to sell on a permanent basis rather than let the 21-year-old leave on a loan deal.
The newspaper suggests that the Citizens would rather deal with Spurs as they consider Arsenal a direct rival for the title this season, and they would want to recoup as much of the £12m they paid Fiorentina two years ago as possible.
It remains to be seen whether either club would be willing to pay that kind of money for Nastasic but he would certainly be a useful addition for either side. Arsenal’s need for a centre-back is obvious as they have been left short at the back following the exit of Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona, but it could be difficult for the Gunners to persuade City to do a deal with them for the highly-rated defender.
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Tottenham appear well-stocked at the back with Fazio arriving to replace Michael Dawson – who joined Hull last week – but Mauricio Pochettino could have earmarked Nastasic as a possible replacement for Vlad Chiriches, with speculation linking the Romanian with a move away from White Hart Lane.
With just hours left until the transfer window slams shut, it’s going to be interesting to see whether Nastasic makes the move to north London or stays to fight for his place at the Etihad….we won’t have to wait long to find out.
