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Arsenal Transfer News/Rumours

The first major rumour recently has been the transfer of Sol Campbell to Turkish club Fenerbahce for a fee reported to be in the region of 10 to 12 million Euros. Some websites, as well as papers in Britain, were reporting this transfer. They had absolutely no quotes to back it up however.

Fenerbahce quickly moved to dismiss the news, however, they did not deny that they are interested in signing the England international. Fenerbahce are one of Turkey’s richest clubs, and are in a position to offer him wages around 70,000 pounds a week, as well as matching any transfer demands Arsenal make.

The reason I feel this is rubbish is Sol Campbell himself. When he ran out his contract at Spurs, he was in negotiations with several major clubs. Only two clubs entered the final stages: Arsenal and Barcelona.

Barcelona agreed to meet his wage demands, however, the sticking point was Sol’s strange demand that he also be granted three return flights to London each week. This showed the intensity of his attachment to his hometown, and a personality like that won’t pack up and move to the ass-end of Europe simply because they’re offering him the same wages as he’s getting currently, especially at this stage of his career.

I seriously doubt this is true. If it is, it would be a departure as far as Sol’s natural tendency to stick around London is concerned.
The second major news this week is the impending arrival of Tomas Rosicky from Borussia Dortmund. The fee is quoted to be 4 to 6 million pounds, rising to 7 million pounds based on appearances and success.

The news was slipped when the Czech national team coach stated his surprise that no one knew about Rosicky’s move. According to him, Rosicky is in London with representatives to conduct a medical and thrash out final contract details. Arsenal, Rosicky and Borussia Dortmund are yet to comment on the matter.

The word from some of my contacts in London is that Rosicky’s already passed a medical and is set to sign a contract within the next few hours. If it happens, Arsenal will have acquired a player who is often quoted to be one of “Europe’s best midfielders.”

This signing really excites me. “Rosi”, as he’s known in the Czech Republic, is proven quality, on the club and international level. He started off at Sparta Praha and became (still is) the Bundesliga’s record signing at 18 million pounds when he moved to Dortmund. Three years ago, Milan had a 33 million pound (yes, THIRTY THREE MILLION POUND) bid rejected for Rosicky. He’s been a consistent performer for his national side, and considering the rubbish team he plays in right now (the decline of Dortmund following their Champions League triumph is well documented), he still has a lot more to offer.

This also means, in my opinion, that Robert Pires’ departure is just a matter of time now. Rosicky is very comfortable on the wings, as well as the creative central midfield role that Cesc Fabregas occupies. He could provide a great option for squad rotation, apart from being a starter on the left.

Like Rooney’s true talents could only be realized when he moved to a club with the ambitions to match his talent, Rosicky could blossom into the sort of player he’s promised to become since the biggest clubs in Europe trained their eyes on him. To get the record Bundesliga signing, who’s had a 33 million pound bid come his way, for a lot less than ten million pounds is a bloody great piece of business.

I must repeat that the deal is still not 100 percent confirmed, though barring any last minute intervention from a certain corrupt Russian businessman, it should go through within the next 48 hours.

More later…

Topics: Arsenal, English Premier League, Football Transfers