Arsenal tell City: Nasri's yours for £22m up front
Samir Nasri will get his move to Manchester City after Arsenal finally put a price on his head.
The Gunners have told City manager Roberto Mancini he can have his man for £22million, and conceded they have zero chance of persuading the France international to sign a new contract.
Talks between the clubs are progressing at a swift rate - the only real snag holding up the deal is the manner in which the payment will be made.
City are thought to have offered in the region of £15m for a player who now has less than a year remaining on his current contract and could leave on a free at the end of the coming season.
They have also indicated they are prepared to meet Arsenal's valuation by paying another £7m in performance-related add-ons, but the Gunners are adamant they want a straight-cash payment up-front - because of the need to sign a replacement.
Arsenal know £22m is a trifling matter for the super-rich Eastlands club and expect an agreement to be reached within days as they look ahead to life without one of their most exciting players.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has maintained a hard-line stance over the winger, insisting he would not sell even if that meant losing him for nothing next summer.
But relations between player and club have deteriorated in recent days, with Nasri's conviction he must leave hardening after tense exchanges between the two parties.
Wenger said a month ago that he was prepared to write off the £20m-plus the club could squeeze from City, in what was a clear attempt to put pressure on his midfielder.
But that stance brought Nasri no closer to signing a new contract, and now Arsenal have accepted they must cash in.
The 24-year-old has angered Gunners bosses by leaving the UK to play for his country in a friendly against Chile on Wednesday, despite missing a club friendly in Portugal last weekend through injury.
Arsenal have offered nasri an improved deal worth almost £90,000 a week, but he knows he can double those wages by moving to City and that, ultimately, has forced Wenger's hand.
The Gunners' manager will hold out for the transfer fee to be paid up-front, to ensure he has the financial muscle to make a late splash in the transfer market after being criticised all summer for his failure to bring in new faces.
The London club completed the capture this week of 17-year-old Southampton forward Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in a deal that could rise to £15million, but there is disquiet among even the Arsenal players at the lack of signings.
Some are demoralised by the still-impending departure of Cesc Fabregas - Barcelona are edging slowly towards the Gunners'£40million asking price, making a deal more likely.
Wenger admitted only weeks ago that Arsenal wouldn't be viewed as a 'big club' if they let two of their biggest players leave in one summer, so is now preparing to spend big to remove that impression and ease the frustrations of the club's fans and players.
Nasri could even be a City player before the start of the new season, - Mancini confirmed last weekend that he was still keen to bring his original summer transfer target to the club for the big kick-off.
Stoke set their sights on SWP
Potters boss Tony Pulis is ready to pay City’s £2million asking price and offer better terms than Bolton for the former England international midfielder.
Stoke’s move comes as a shock, as Pulis already has Jermaine Pennant and Matty Etherington - one of the best wing combinations in the top flight.
But Pulis plans to go for it this season – both at home and in the Europa League – thanks to the backing of the wealthy Coates family.
Bolton, who in theory could could offer Wright-Phillips a better chance at a regular first-team place, are keen but the price of the package is cooling their interest.
Sorensen claims Man City talks
Stoke City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen claims that he was the subject of an offer from Manchester City this summer.
Roberto Mancini's side were in the market for a back-up keeper following the sale of Shay Given to Aston Villa, and eventually settled for Romania's Costel Pantilimon after no deal with Sorensen could be arranged.
"If a big club of that size is interested, you can't really look the other way," Sorensen told Sky Sports News. "There were negotiations there but in the end they didn't turn into anything, and I move on."
Sorensen, who started just ten league games last season, has been forced to settle for a bench role at Stoke after losing his place to Asmir Begovic.
He is eager to sign a new deal with the Potters as his current pay packet is linked to how many first-team appearances he makes.
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[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
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Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is set to go head-to-head with former boss Jose Mourinho in a transfer battle over Porto midfielder Fredy Gaurin. talkSHIT
Chelsea are prepared to use midfielder Yossi Benayoun as bait in their attempt to prise Luka Modric from Tottenham. Daily Mail
Lassana Diarra is a step closer to a move to Spurs after Real Madrid cut their asking price for the midfielder. talkSHIT
Spurs are plotting a £35m bid for Porto striker Hulk as manager Harry Redknapp seeks to boost attacking options.Daily Mail
Arsenal are monitoring Birmingham's £8m defender Scott Dann, who is also interesting Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish. Daily Mail
Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala will step up their interest in Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin this week. talkSHIT
Blackburn Rovers are lining up a £3m move for Leicester's Ivory Coast defender Sol Bamba. The Sun
Aston Villa have joined Bundesliga club Hamburg SV in the hunt for Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner. footy-bunker
Bolton are set to bring ex-Stoke forward Tuncay back to the Premier League after less than a season with German side Wolfsburg. The Sun
Rangers have made £2.5m-rated French-Tunisian defender Yohan Benalouane, who plays for Cesena, a priority target after failing to land Anderlecht's Rolan Juhasz. (Daily Express)
Anderlecht say they will not be bullied into selling defender Roland Juhasz to Rangers and will not reduce their asking price after rejecting five bids for the player from the Glasgow club. (the Sun)
Den Haag winger Wesley Verhoek pulled the plug on his transfer to Nottingham Forest - and will not be joining Rangers either - because of his 11th-hour decision that he could not live outside the Netherlands. (Daily Record)
Wesley Verhoek is poised to join Vitesse Arnhem from Den Haag after rejecting moves to Nottingham Forest and Rangers. (the Sun)
Celtic are confident that they will tie up a deal to sign Polish goalkeeper Grzegorz Sandomierski from Jagiellonia Bialystok today. (the Sun)
Osasuna striker Jorge Galan has flown into Scotland to undergo a medical ahead of a season-long loan with Kilmarnock. (Various)
Hibernian have offered freed Aston Villa midfielder Isaiah Osbourne a two-year contract and hope the 23-year-old will be signed in time to face Kilmarnock on Saturday. (Daily Record)
Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh believes Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri will both leave the Emirates, despite both being included in Arsenal's squad for this month's Champions League tie with Udinese. Daily Telegraph
New Arsenal signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain believes everything is in place for the club to win trophies, saying that is the reason he joined the Londoners. talkSHIT
Rafael van der Vaart has urged team-mate Luka Modric to stay at Spurs for one more year before making his dream move to Chelsea. Metro
Bolton boss Owen Coyle has told clubs interested in Gary Cahill either to make an offer or leave the defender to concentrate on his career at the Reebok Stadium. talkSHIT
Rangers have accused the HMRC of leaking details of the club's finances as owner Craig Whyte challenges a £2.8m tax bill. (Daily Record)
Rangers have hit back at Madjid Bougherra's claim that he felt sickened by the club's offer of a new contract, saying that the defender had no intention of staying at Ibrox before his £1.7m move to Lekhwiya. (Daily Mail)
Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic says he is less likely to select Madjid Bougherra now that the defender has moved from Rangers to Qatar champions Lekhwiya because he is playing at a lower level of football. (Daily Record)
Hollywood actor Gerard Butler turned out for a Celtic legends XI as they won 5-2 against a Manchester United legends team featuring Roy Keane and Teddy Sheringham. Metro
Former Scotland midfielder and Sky football pundit Neil McCann has promised to play for free should he sign for Partick Thistle. (Daily Record)
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