Arsenal have agreed ‘in principal’ to a deal to sign Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira in the January transfer window with the Bernabeu side keen to cash in on the 27 year old.
Khedira has turned down the offer of a new contract and with his current deal set to expire next summer the Spanish giants wish to sell the former Stuttgart man when the transfer window re-opens to prevent losing the midfield battler on a free transfer.
Arsenal have put in an offer that meets Real Madrid’s €15m (£11m) price-tag and this would leave Arsene Wenger in the clear to negotiate with Khedira though the World Cup winner must first prove himself to have recovered from arthroscopic surgery on his knee before any deal can be struck.
Wenger will be handed £30m to invest in his squad in January and the need to bring in a steely midfield presence is clear and the Gunners boss is known to have a long running interest in Khedira.
The defensively minded midfielder missed most of last term due to his knee injury but returned to help Real Madrid secure a Champions League triumph and then played a prominent role in Joachim Low’s national team triumph in Brazil before once again being sidelined with injury.
Wenger has been linked with an interest in a number of midfield targets including Sporting Lisbon youngster William Carvalho and Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin but the French manager will now turn his attention back to Khedira, who in turn will look to get back to full fitness before the January window opens.
Regardless of injury concerns Khedira has his work cut out trying to force his way back into Carlo Ancelotti’s first team set-up with the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Asier Illarramendi all battling for central midfield spots in the Real Madrid starting eleven.
A move to Arsenal could well tempt Khedira though Arsenal will have to fork out around £140k a week to meet the Real Madrid man’s wage expectations.
The presence of national team colleagues Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski could act as further motivation to make the move to the Emirates Stadium.
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