Arsenal Transfer News: Sergi Samper Bid Readied, Fresh Wojciech Szczesny Rumours
Arsenal "will pay" the €12 million (£8.5 million) release clause of Barcelona B starlet Sergi Samper, according to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Tom Conn of Inside Spanish Football).
The 20-year-old defensive midfielder has escaped the clutches of Gunners boss Arsene Wenger twice before. Conn suggested Samper decided to stay with Barca in 2011 and that the Catalan club dismissed Wenger's interest last summer.
Sport Witness tweeted Mundo's article:
Samper has remained with the Blaugrana since the age of six, but he "may be open to the idea of moving if he's not given assurances of playing time with the [Barcelona] first team," reported Conn.
The developing midfielder has made 74 appearances in Liga Segunda, scoring six goals from a largely deep position, as recorded by Transfermarkt.co.uk. He made a first-team appearance in the Champions League win over APOEL last term where he was positioned in the centre of a midfield three, which also included Sergi Roberto and Xavi Hernandez.
Like many talents in Barca's La Masia academy, Samper is a natural distributor of the ball and calm in possession. He reads the game well, makes committed tackles and wins the ball back. Play can be filtered through the youngster who constantly monitors developments around him.
Football writer Rafael Hernandez believes Samper would be an excellent investment for Arsenal:
Wenger sees the Spaniard as the long-term replacement for Mikel Arteta, noted by Conn. The experienced midfielder recently signed a new one-year contract extension at the Emirates Stadium, reported Sky Sports. He could help Samper settle if he does arrive.
"Should Barcelona not allow him to leave on loan this season, it's possible that Samper would leave the club if his meager release clause was met, even though he recently reiterated that Barcelona was the club of his life," writes Conn.
Szczesny on the Brink of Roma Move?
Wenger's only business of the summer so far has seen goalkeeper Petr Cech move across London from Chelsea. Former No. 1 Wojciech Szczesny, who lost his place to David Ospina last season, "has reached an agreement with Roma, who are now in direct talks with Arsenal to finalise the move," per Il Tempo (h/t Will Giles of Metro).
The Mirror's John Cross suggested the Polish stopper "does not want to leave Arsenal permanently," so he'll likely head to the Italian capital on a season-long loan.
Szczesny is surplus to requirements in the current situation but has never appeared to give up hope of nailing down a permanent spot in Wenger's team. He could gain much-needed playing time with a move to Roma.
Sky Sport journalist Gianluca Di Marzio (via translator David Amoyal) indicated Roma will have an opportunity to make the transfer permanent:
Szczesny remains a quality 'keeper and is fiercely loyal to the Gunners, but he needs to play regularly ahead of Euro 2016. Cech is destined to dominate between the Arsenal sticks for some years, so it's inevitable Szczesny will move on.
Wenger cannot afford to hang on to players who aren't contributing if his side are to make a run for the Premier League title. Current champions Chelsea don't waste squad space and are excellent at cutting players loose when they're no longer needed, a tactic that could help Wenger continue to improve his exciting batch of stars.
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