No place like home
Reiss Nelson has hinted that he may return to Arsenal in January, despite having impressed during his loan at Hoffenheim.
The 18-year-old has scored six times in the Bundesliga this season, fuelling calls from Gooners for Arsenal boss Unai Emery to bring him back for the second half of the season, the Daily Mirror reports.
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And those calls have grown even louder following Danny Welbeck’s ankle break last week.
“I’m feeling stronger and I think a couple more months or even a year in Hoffenheim will make me strong and give me the belief and confidence to go back to Arsenal and do very good there,” said Nelson, who made 15 appearances for the Gunners last season. “I want to be an Arsenal legend.”
Pavon wanted
But according to the Daily Express, rather than looking to Nelson to fill the void left by Welbeck’s injury, Arsenal will look to splash the cash for a new striker.
The club’s recruitment chief, Sven Mislintat, is reportedly “eyeing Cristian Pavon”, with the 22-year-old having impressed in Argentina with Boca Juniors.
Lille attacker Nicolas Pepe is also under serious consideration, says the Daily Star, which claims that Emery has already “made an approach” for the Ivorian ace.
Gunners hunt Hermoso
The latest defender to be linked to Arsenal is Espanyol star Mario Hermoso, described by The Sun as “one of the best in La Liga”.
However, Real Madrid may pose a problem, amid claims that the European champions are also interested in the 23-year-old.
Hermoso has been in sparkling form this season, and Arsenal boss Emery has been keeping a close eye on his compatriot. But the Sun says that Real have a buy-back clause on the young star and could purchase him “for a fraction of the price that the Gunners are offering”.
Hermoso, who has just received his first call-up to the Spain national team, is seen by Emery as the type of blocker his back four needs, and he is ready to table a £35m offer in January.
Race for Herrera hots up
Hector Herrera is in “advanced talks with Inter Milan over a summer free transfer” , according to talkSPORT - and that’s bad news for Arsenal and Tottenham.
Both of the north London clubs have been tracking the 28-year-old Porto midfielder over the last few seasons, but their dithering could be exploited by Inter.
TalkSPORT says that the Mexican international, who is out of contract in the summer, is likely to turn down a new deal and leave Portugal for Italy.
Italian media reports that Inter are close to agreeing a pre-contract agreement with Herrera and that he may make the move as early as January.