Arsenal close in on £17m Bolton defender Gary Cahill as Tottenham's bid to hijack move falters
Arsene Wenger should seal a move for the highly-rated 25 year-old to land the England international by the end of the week although the Gunners are hoping to haggle the price down from the £17 million release clause in Cahill's contract.
Cahill, 25, is in line to join Arsenal despite late interest from their north London rivals Spurs, who have proposed player-plus-cash deals including Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas and Sebastien Bassong.
But Spurs boss Harry Redknapp looks set to fail in his bid to hijack the move as Cahill wants to test himself in the Champions League. He is also ready to snub interest from Manchester City as he feels he will get more first-team opportunities at Arsenal.
Both Wenger and Redknapp see Cahill as the type of uncompromising central defender who can help their side challenge for the Premier League title next season.
A move for Cahill would smash Arsenal's transfer record and Bolton are ready to cash in on their prize asset after their last set of financial accounts revealed debts of £93m.
Cahill could be joined at Arsenal by Blackburn captain Christopher Samba as Wenger looks to add much-needed steel to his squad having identified central defence as the weak point in his side.
Cahill joined Bolton from Aston Villa for £5m in January 2008 and has produced consistently excellent performances at the Reebok Stadium, resulting in three England caps.
Meanwhile Lille striker Gervinho is keen on a move to Arsenal but no concrete offers have been received so far, the club’s president has revealed.
The 24-year-old has been widely tipped to make the switch to the Emirates Stadium this summer after enjoying a superb campaign in which he helped Lille to their first league title in 57 years as well as the French Cup in an historic double.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is thought to be targeting quality attacking reinforcements to remove some of the scoring burden from injury-prone Robin van Persie, and it is believed the Frenchman ranks Gervinho highly on his list of potential targets.
Lille are thought to be willing to part with their prized asset for a fee in the region of £10.6 million, but while the club’s president Michel Seydoux admitted Gervinho is enthusiastic about the prospect of a move to north London, he stressed that no offers have yet been received.
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