We are now informed that Chelsea are interested in Gonzalo Higuain, which increases his value even more. How much more? The latest figure I read is 37 million pounds!
So much for Wenger’s dream of getting him for 23 million pounds. That was just two weeks ago.
Today Stefan Jovetic has just moved closer to joining Manchester City, who just purchased Alvaro Negredo yesterday. So goes another of our summer targets.
The only bargain this entire summer appears to be David Villa’s move from Barcelona to Atletico Madrid for less than 4 million pounds.
We now have to ask, who is left? Who could we possibly buy and have a little money left over to make additional purchases?
There are only eight top strikers (by my limited knowledge) who appear to be left.
Leandro Damiao of Internacional. Tottenham have lusted after him for two years, but have never come close. Apparently Rafa Benitez at Napoli is interested in him as well. We have never been interested, so Napoli would appear to have the edge, if they really want him.
Hulk at Zenit St. Petersburg. Mourinho and Chelsea were talking to him, but they appear to have lost interest. He just moved there recently and will carry a big pricetag. Arsenal won’t want to deal with Zenit either.
Gonzalo Higuain at Real Madrid. Apparently Arsenal, Napoli, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Juventus all have an eye on him. Real will need to sell him if they want Suarez, but to whom and for how much.
Robert Lewandowski at Borussia Dortmund. Bayern Munich appeared set to buy him, but Dortmund would rather deal with somebody else. Valued at around 30 million pounds, but that’s with no competition for his signature.
Christian Benteke at Aston Villa. Only one good season under his belt so some buyers are nervous about buying him. Tottenham and Liverpool are the most interested right now.
Wayne Rooney at Manchester United. Do United want to sell? No, they say. Rooney’s weekly wage is a little too rich for Arsenal. Chelsea are interested, but are they just playing head games?
Luis Suarez at Liverpool. Suarez comes with lots of baggage, but Arsene Wenger appears to be interested. So are Real Madrid who’ve made no secret they want him. They’ve missed out on a number of top strikers this summer and will not want to lose out to Arsenal.
Fernando Torres of Chelsea. I know he’s “not for sale,” but if Chelsea buy Rooney can you see him sticking around? Already Chelsea have too many strikers (Torres, Ba, Lukaku) and a fourth makes little sense. Therefore Torres may be available at the end of the summer.
We are now at a point where we are poised to start the final battle for the strikers. Which domino will fall first? Arsenal have placed an offer for Suarez, Liverpool have refused. What next?
Wayne Rooney might put in a transfer request or he might not. Are Chelsea going to up their bid to get him? And what if he leaves, will that bring Manchester United out onto the market looking for a replacement?
When will Napoli enter the frame? Who do they want? Higuain, Damiao or how about Suarez? Rafa Benitez would love to inflict some damage on Liverpool.
Are Real Madrid going to make an approach to Liverpool for Suarez? Arsenal’s bid has driven up Suarez’s price and Florentino Perez will have to pay a lot more than he had intended.
And what of Arsenal? Have they been naïve and now in danger of getting nobody? Or are they fully committed to getting Suarez? Or are they just bluffing and still in for Higuain?
Arsenal and Napoli are both sitting on a lot of cash and need to decide how to spend it. The next three weeks should be very interesting and very stressful for Gunners fans. I personally find it hard to believe that Arsene Wenger will spend more than 30 million pounds. I just cannot see him going head to head financially with his competitors.