Arsenal Transfer News: Cheick Tiote Talks Held, Latest Winston Reid Rumours

Talks are already underway between Arsenal and Newcastle United regarding the signing of holding midfielder Cheick Tiote, reports suggest.

According to David Woods of the Daily Star, the Ivory Coast international is a target of the Gunners, who may have to pay £9 million to get the player to the Emirates in the January transfer window. The piece claims that Tiote is looking for a salary of £80,000-a-week over the course of a three-and-a-half-year deal.

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Issues have raged in perpetuity at the base of the Arsenal midfield and it would seem Arsene Wenger is looking to eradicate some of those problems in the mid-season window. But Tiote is not the right fit for the Gunners and even for a seven-figure sum, the club should ease off if they are in negotiations for him.

The 28-year-old is a bustling, rumbustious presence in the Newcastle midfield, but despite having been in the Premier League since 2010, he’s a player that still doesn’t seem to have completely grasped the pace of the division. Subsequently, Tiote can occasionally resemble a rash, erratic midfielder.

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A better option for the club would be Morgan Schneiderlin, who has been long linked with a move to the Gunners per Metro, even if it means Wenger has to wait until the summer to land his man. As noted by Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe, while he would cost a lot more, he’s already a classy player and a fine long-term prospect:

Arsenal are also reportedly keen on adding some steel to their defensive options too, but reports claiming that West Ham United’s Winston Reid wants a move to the Emirates this month, per Darren Lewis of the Mirror, have been scuppered by the player on his Twitter account:

The Gunners have also been linked with a move for Villarreal defender Gabriel Paulista, per The Telegraph. Bleacher Report’s James McNicholas takes a look at the prospects of him signing as well as other mooted January targets:

Reid’s contract situation means that he could be available for a cut-price deal in January or a free transfer at the end of the season. The New Zealand international has been a mainstay at the back for the Hammers and his robust defensive mantras would add some real fortitude to what’s been an eminently flaky Arsenal back line.

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It seems as though West Ham haven’t quite given up hope of keeping their star defender, though. As reported by Ken Dyer of the London Evening Standard, the club’s co-chairman David Sullivan claims the player won’t move in January unless they receive an inflated transfer fee and that there’s still an outside chance he could remain at Upton Park:

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We wouldn’t let Winston go unless it is a silly deal and I don’t think anyone would pay the money we want.

I still believe there is a 30 per cent chance he will stay. He tells us he still hasn’t made up his mind and we want him to stay.

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That’d be a major boost for West Ham and, given the progress the team has made so far this season, Reid staying wouldn’t be too big a surprise. The lure of an illustrious club like Arsenal may be difficult to resist, but his opportunities of getting regular football would surely diminish with men like Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker likely to command starting berths.

For Arsenal, the 26-year-old would be an excellent January acquisition, for Reid could lend a hand to both their Premier League and Champions League commitments in the second half of the season. But West Ham seem unrelentingly boisterous in their apparent attempts to keep hold of their man, so a free transfer at the end of the campaign looks the best course of action for the Gunners.