Arsenal have got a clear run at Thomas Lemar, reports the Daily Mirror, after Liverpool decided to drop out of the running for the fleet-footed Monaco star.
Lemar has reportedly refused to sign a new deal with the French club, fuelling rumours he will move at the end of the season, but it appears Anfield is no longer his destination. According to the Mirror Arsenal are now in “pole position” to sign the young winger, who apparently has been impressed by their recent signings of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
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And if Lemar does decide to make the move to the Emirates this summer, he could find Jack Wilshere is still at the club. Speculation has been rife in recent weeks as to the future of the England midfielder, with suggestions that he was ready to leave Arsenal for a new challenge.
But the Daily Mail claims that Wilshere is close to accepting Arsenal’s offer of a new deal after the intervention of Arsene Wenger.
It’s claimed that the Gunners gaffer told his board to resolve Wilshere’s future immediately, and consequently the terms of a new deal have been outlined to the 26-year-old playmaker.
The Mail says that the deal will compel Wilshere to take a drop in his current weekly wage of around £100,000 to £80,000. However, the new contract will “include a host of performance-related add-ons, allowing him to make up some of the shortfall”.
Wilshere’s long history of serious injuries is behind the reduction in wages but he is ready to accept the deal and remain at the Emirates, much to the delight of Wenger. “I’m positive because I want Jack to stay,” he told reporters. “I do the maximum I can to make him happy.”