Manchester City have until Wednesday morning to seal a deal for Arsenal’s Samir Nasri or else risk the Frenchman being cup tied where the UEFA Champions League is concerned.
Wenger is prepared to add the 24 year old to the starting eleven to give Arsenal as good a chance as possible at qualifying for the group stage and should that mean City pulling out of the deal then Arsenal will be happy to keep Nasri on for the duration of the season in the hope he may yet sign an extension.
Whilst including Nasri in Wednesday’s squad could devalue the player it does also give Manchester City a nudge with regards to urgency with Arsenal hoping to have enought time to replace Nasri before the transfer window closes. Should Nasri play on Wednesday it is also quite likely that the Eastlands side will look elsewhere for an attack minded midfielder.
Wenger ready to defy City by playing Nasri
Arsene Wenger is ready to defy Roberto Mancini by naming Samir Nasri in Arsenal's squad for tomorrow's Champions League play-off against Udinese, with Manchester City no closer to finalising a £23m deal for the French midfielder.
Although a fee has been agreed between the two clubs for the 24-year-old, with personal terms of £170,000-a-week also finalised, City have yet to come to a financial agreement with the player's representatives over their involvement in the transfer.
City manager Mancini's frustration over the delay in completing the deal came to a head on Sunday when he warned Wenger that he risked creating a "big problem" that could force the transfer to fall through should Nasri become cup-tied by lining up against Udinese in tomorrow's second-leg in Italy.
But with Arsenal facing the possibility of missing out on the lucrative group stages should their 1-0 first-leg lead be overturned -- the club banked £29.9m in prize money by reaching the last 16 of last season's competition -- Wenger is understood to have told club officials that it will be business as usual with Nasri, and that he is prepared to select him against the Italians in order to boost his team's prospects of reaching the group stage.
Nasri trained with his Arsenal team-mates yesterday and is due to train at the club's London Colney base today before the squad fly to Italy from Luton Airport this afternoon.
Nasri is understood to have told close friends that he prefers a move to Manchester United or Spain ahead of a transfer to City and sources in France have indicated that he may now be ready to consider a one-year contract extension at Arsenal in order to leave the club for a more preferable destination next summer.
Should Nasri extend his contract at the Emirates until Jun 2013, it would enable Arsenal to secure a fee for the player next summer rather than lose him for nothing or rush through a transfer now at a time when the club's midfield has already been deprived of the services of Cesc Fabregas following his departure to Barcelona.
Whether United, who lodged a £20m bid for Nasri in June, would be prepared to wait until next summer for the player remains to be seen and City remain favourites to complete a deal for Nasri before the August 31 deadline.
Wenger's attempts to recruit desperately needed reinforcements to bolster his faltering side may rest on Arsenal's abilities to reach the Champions League.
Liverpool tracking former striker Bellamy for Anfield return
Liverpool have expressed interest in bringing their former striker Craig Bellamy back to Anfield from Manchester City.
Sunderland, Stoke, Bolton, Everton and Celtic have also shown interest in the 32-year-old who played for Liverpool in 2006-07.
Bellamy has been ostracised by City manager Roberto Mancini and is one of those not allowed to train with the first-team squad.
City would like to get the Welshman off their wage bill and, if agreement is reached, he would be available on a free transfer.
Meanwhile, Liverpool hope to beat City to 20-year-old Uruguay defender Sebastian Coates, who will cost around £10million.
It's all Ngog as Bolton try to land trio
Bolton boss Owen Coyle is aiming to sign THREE new players this week, with swoops for Liverpool's David Ngog and Manchester City duo Shaun Wright-Phillips and Dedryck Boyata.
Coyle is desperate to bolster his small squad before next Wednesday's deadline and has stepped up his hunt with a new £4 million-plus offer for striker Ngog - who could now make his Bolton debut at Anfield next Saturday.
The Frenchman has been cleared to leave by Reds manager Kenny Dalglish and Wanderers hope to agree a fee and terms quickly.
Coyle has also got the nod from City to speak to Belgian defender Boyata, who is also wanted by Blackburn, Everton, West Brom and several Championship teams.
The 20-year-old has been told he can go out on loan for experience by City manager Roberto Mancini, who is an admirer of Bolton's style under Coyle and thinks Boyata would benefit from getting games under his belt.
Busy Coyle also spoke to Wright-Phillips when the two sides met on Sunday about the prospect of linking up with his pals Zat Knight and Nigel Reo-Coker at the Reebok.
Bolton are willing to pay the England winger around £2 million-a-year but will not go higher.
QPR, Wigan and Stoke have all offered Wright-Phillips better personal terms, but Coyle is banking on him wanting to stay in the Manchester area and play for a team that suits his attacking style.
Wanderers would also have to pay City a fee of around £2million for the 29-year-old
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West Ham's Kevin Nolan has encouraged the club to sign his former Newcastle team-mate Joey Barton if they sell Scott Parker before the summer transfer window closes. Daily Mirror
AC Milan confirm they are in talks to sign Liverpool's Alberto Aquilani, as QPR target a loan deal for his Anfield team-mate Joe Cole. Daily Mirror
Chelsea want Juventus keeper Marco Storari as back-up for Petr Cech. Daily Mirror
Wolves are set to offer veteran midfielder Jimmy Bullard a Premier League lifeline after he was sacked by Hull over an incident during a pre-season tour. Daily Mirror
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has insisted that Kevin Doyle, a rumoured target for Liverpool, is not leaving Molineux.
(Daily Star)
But Reds boss Kenny Dalglish is more likely to succeed with an £8m move for Birmingham defender Scott Dann. Daily Star
Arsenal are ready to break the bank to bring Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger to Emirates Stadium. Fanatix
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is planning to bolster his defence by signing Porto's Rolando and Ajax's Gregory van der Wiel before the transfer window shuts. Fanatix
Arsenal are trying to offload Sebastian Squillaci - but they cannot find a taker for the French defender. talkSHIT
Tottenham failed with bids for Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Stewart Downing during the current transfer window. Metro
Inter Milan are weighing up a move for Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt, according to sources in Italy. talkSHIT
Striker Kuyt will reject Inter's interest in favour of staying at Anfield. Daily Mail
Lille striker Moussa Sow is keen on a move to Arsenal and Real Madrid. Inside Futbol
Everton and Celtic want Birmingham defender Liam Ridgewell on loan after the 27-year-old's £3m move to West Brom broke down following talks. Daily Mail
Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong is the latest star to get embroiled in a Twitter row with journalist Piers Morgan. Metro
Spurs target Emmanuel Adebayor has told the club they must strengthen their squad, starting with his Real Madrid team-mate Lassana Diarra, if he is to join them. Daily Mirror
Rangers were incensed to learn an appeal against Steven Whittaker's three-match ban was rejected by Uefa because of his sending off for Scotland nearly a year ago. Daily Record
