Arsenal are set to step up their £10m pursuit of Swiss international Goekhan Inler in the wake of Cesc Fabregas’ KO blow, according to the Daily Star.
The Gunners came close to signing the 24-year-old from Udinese in the summer, but with Fabregas out for four months their need has become far more pressing. A fee of around
£10m could be enough to persuade the Serie A side to sell Inler, who was the one impressive Swiss player at Euro 2008.
The Gunners had been keeping close tabs on the central midfielder this season, even before Fabregas’ knee ligament damage.
Boss Arsene Wenger confirmed: “We are more likely to buy in January now.”
The Frenchman admitted the news on the Spanish star was not good following his injury against Liverpool on Sunday.
He said: “It is a partial rupture of the medial ligament and will take three to four months injury time
“We know he will be working hard to come back earlier, but I count four months.
“He will not have an operation, but I believe that the difficult period is the first six weeks, where you are in the brace and you cannot move at all.
“How much we will miss him is difficult to say, but we will miss him.”
The Gunners are also eyeing a move for Sporting Lisbon’s Miguel Veloso.
The 22-year-old has fallen out with boss Paulo Bento and could now try and force through a loan move this January with a view to a permanent deal.
Meanwhile, reports in the Telegraph suggest that the injury to Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has prompted manager Arsene Wenger to renew his interest in Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.
Arsenal reportedly made a £14 million deadline-day bid for the Spaniard in August but Wenger refused to meet the Anfield club’s valuation of £17m.
Should Liverpool wish to sell, the potential transfer price may be lowered as Alonso would be cup-tied in Europe having played in the Champions League.
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Or the price could go up since he is playing so well at the present!
Veloso is a quality player and out of the three i would want Wenger to sign him for Arsenal. On the other hand i would avoid Alonso because Liverpool are demanding for too much money and Wenger is reluctant to spend big on players. Inler could be a good buy for the Gunners.
Also Alonso is cup tied and Arsenal will need a midfielder who is eligible to play in the champions league to push their chance of winning European silverware this season. But our current crop of players in midfield just look fragile and soon we’ll find out what players AW will sign to bolster our squad
Buy inler then get veloso and elano on loan..get rid of the lazy and injury prone diaby, he’s no good for arsenal
I think we need to swallow our pride and try to get some players on loan if it proves difficult to buy bse of the credit crunch