Arsenal prepare big-money bid for Morgan Schneiderlin

THE latest player to be linked with a summer move to Arsenal is Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin. According to the Daily Star the 24-year-old Frenchman has caught the eye of Arsene Wenger this season after a string of impressive displays for the Saints.

The Star claims the Nutty Professor is “a keen admirer” of his compatriot and is lining up a big-money bid for Schneiderlin. It was rumoured back in January that the Gunners were interested in Scheiderlin but they were allegedly “priced out of a deal” by the south coast club.

This time, however, Arsenal are going to meet Southampton’s asking price of £12m as Wenger seeks to bolster his fragile midfield with the strapping Schneiderlin.

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Meanwhile the Daily Mirror says Arsenal have agreed a new five-year contract with Laurent Koscielny. The French central defender, the Gunners’ most consistent performer this season by some distance, has been linked of late with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain – but not any more.

It’s reported that the 28-year-old France international has committed himself to the Emirates until 2019, four years after Koscielny arrived at Arsenal from French outfit Lorient.

Elsewhere, Talksport would have us believe that Paris Saint-Germain are weighing up whether to take Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore to the transfer market this summer. The pair of Argentine aces could be victims of the French club’s free spending of late – a splurge that is likely to earn them a hefty fine from Uefa for breaching their Fair Play Rules.

In order to therefore trim their massive wage bill, PSG will reportedly offload Pastore and Lavezzi to the highest bidder. The former has been linked to Liverpool in recent months while frontman Lavezzi “has been on Chelsea’s radar” for most of the season. With Blues boss Jose Mourinho on the lookout for sharp-eyed strikers it’s rumoured he could make a move for Lavezzi in a matter of weeks.

Still with Chelsea, the Evening Standard claims that midfielder John Obi Mikel is “a step closer to securing a move away” from Stamford Bridge after he entered into talks with Inter Milan.

The 27-year-old Nigeria international, who has been a fixture at Chelsea since 2006, has made just three League games this year and it’s said he will be sold in the summer as the Blues also look to cut back on their wage bill.

Asked about a possible move to Italy, Mikel’s agent, John Shittu, revealed that Inter “are interested in him”. Shittu then added: “I cannot tell you anything more on the negotiations. The fact remains that Mikel now has a contract with the Blues.”

In other news Metro says that Bayern Munich frontman Thomas Muller is the latest player to distance himself from reports linking him with a move to Manchester United. It’s been suggested of late that Muller doesn’t see eye to eye with Bayern boss Pep Guardiola and a move was on the cards, but that ain’t the case says the German.

“I didn’t make these rumours up myself, so I don’t particularly want to comment on them too much,” explained Muller. “But I’m definitely not about to jump ship at Bayern.”