Transfer Talk: Arshavin to Arsenal, Not Spurs

By: Daryl | December 30th, 2008

Two days left until the January transfer window opens. I can already feel a bit of a draft. Here’s what might be blowing through…

Zenit’s baby-faced Russian magician Andrei Arshavin is still being linked with a move to North London, but now it’s Arsenal instead of Spurs. Arshavin’s not really a Cesc Fabregas replacement (more of an attacking mid/striker than Cesc is/was) but he’d definitely fit in with Arsene Wenger’s ideas about how football should be played. But will the £20m pricetag fit with Wenger’s ideas of how much footballers should cost.

That still leaves Harry Redknapp in need of a striker, and latest word is that he’ll take advantage of the fire sales at West Ham and Portsmouth to rescue either Craig Bellamy or Jermain Defoe. Hilariously, West Ham want more than £12m for Craig Bellamy (tattoos must cost extra?) so my guess is a reunion for Harry and Jermain.

Emile Heskey’s better than we thought, but is he really good enough for Liverpool and Chelsea to want him? Maybe, but he better not be expecting to start every week. If Heskey’s got any sense he’ll either stay at Wigan and play, or go to Aston Villa.

After missing out on the chance to warm Real Madrid’s bench, Jermaine Pennant looks all set for a much more realistic move to Wigan Athletic. Because…

Real Madrid are apparently going to sign Wigan’s current right winger Antonio Valencia.

Shay Given is brilliant. Newcastle are not. So once again he’s being linked with a move away from St James’ Park. Today’s rumours have him going to either Arsenal or Spurs for £8m. And if you saw Given’s performance against Liverpool (where he was the only thing between Liverpool and a cricket score) you’d agree that was an absolute bargain.

Florent Malouda’s stop start Chelsea career could finally come to a halt if he joins Bayern Munich for £8 million. That’s £5 million less than Chelsea paid for him by the way.

Apparently Genoa goal machine Diego Milito is attracting the interest of Inter Milan. Would be a shame to see the Argentine’s second spell at Genoa cut short, but maybe Milito’s fancies a Scudetto medal? Either way, it’s bad news for Adriano.

Any other rumours we should know about? Especially interested in rumours NOT involving Premier League clubs.

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