Arsenal face 'strong competition' in chase for Sami Khedira

Will Friday the 13th prove unlucky for Arsenal in the pursuit of Real Madrid star Sami Khedira?

Sami Khedira/Real Madrid
(Image credit: Denis Doyle/Getty)

Friday the 13th is unlucky for some and it appears Arsenal's misfortune is to face strong competition for the signature of Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira. Meanwhile Manchester City face coughing up a huge amount of cash if they want to land Algerian ace Yacine Brahimi

• According to German rag Bild Arsenal face competition from Borussia Dortmund for the hand of Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira. It seems the struggling Bundesliga outfit will table a bid for the German international in the summer. Khedira was linked to the Gunners last season but nothing materialised and he continues to struggle for regular game time at the Bernabeu. Italian giants AC Milan were also said to be interested at one point, as were Bayern Munich, but Bild claims Dortmund have identified Khedira as the man to resurrect their fortunes after what's been a desperately poor season by their standards.

• Manchester City "must stump up £40m" to land Yacine Brahimi. That's the claim made by Talksport, which reports that the 25-year-old Algerian international is being tailed by Manchester City. In recent months Tottenham and Everton were mooted as possible destinations for the attacking midfielder, but eventually last summer Brahimi moved to Porto from Granada. He's since established himself as one of the stars of the Portuguese league, and consequently Talksport says Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has targeted him as "his top summer transfer target", although he's going to pay over the odds to prise him from Porto.

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• As we reported yesterday, Eden Hazard has extended his stay at Chelsea with the signing of a new contract that keeps him at the Bridge for the next five and a half years. The Belgian playmaker, who joined Chelsea from French outfit Lille, was delighted at the deal, telling the club's official website: "I am very happy to sign a new contract… since I came here in 2012 I have always felt good and the club has been very supportive to me."

• According to the Daily Star Atletico Madrid are "prepared to sell Manchester United" Joao Miranda in the summer. Apparently the Brazilian defender is high on the list of priorities for United manager Louis van Gaal, and the Star cites Spanish paper Marca as claiming Atletico are "reluctant to extend Miranda's contract" and are happy to let him go to Old Trafford providing the Red Devils table a serious bid for the 30-year-old.

Bill Mann is a football correspondent for The Week.co.uk, scouring the world's football press daily for the popular Transfer Talk column.