Arsenal are closing in on the signing of a free agent midfielder to bolster Mikel Arteta’s squad, while Friday’s Transfer Gossip claims that Antonio Conte was snubbed by a top winger target in the final stages of the summer transfer window.
Arsenal have left room for a free agent after finalising their squad for the Premier League, according to the Daily Mirror.
There is a limit of 17 players above the age of 21 and not classified as Home Grown Players that can be named. And with Mikel Arteta currently having 14 on board, there is speculation that the Gunners are ready to make a move for former Lille midfielder Xeka.
Arteta is keen to add another midfielder to his squad, having failed to land Douglas Luiz on deadline day.
Injuries to Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny prompted Arteta into action on the final day of the window.
However, two offers for Villa star Luiz were knocked back and Arteta failed to add to his squad.
That could all be about to change, however, with a move for Xeka in the offing.
Xeka scored seven goals in 114 games for Lille before his release at the end of his contract this summer.
He was also part of the Lille side that surprisingly won Ligue 1 during the 2020-21 season.
Adding another body to an injury-hit part of the Arsenal squad certainly makes sense. However, it remains to be seen how long Xeka will take to get up to speed.
The Times claims that Tottenham coach Antonio Conte could not convince Daniel James to join from Leeds United in the summer transfer window.
Spurs were keen on landing the former Manchester United winger. However, they missed out as Fulham ended up sealing a loan deal instead.
And The Times reports that Conte ‘could not persuade Dan James to join from Leeds United’ last month.
The Italian wanted James on board to act as cover for his wide players. But it appears that the Wales star picked the Cottagers, as he had more chance of regular action at Craven Cottage.
The winger cost Leeds £25million when he made the move from Old Trafford. However, he often flattered to deceive at Elland Road and a late summer window move was always on the cards.
James has made just one appearance for his new club so far following the postponements of last weekend’s games.
He will be pushing for his first start in Friday night’s trip to Nottingham Forest.
Former Tottenham and England left-back is close to joining Greek outfit AEK Athens.
The 32-year-old has been a free agent since leaving Watford at the beginning of September, having made just nine appearances for the Hornets.
But he is now on the verge of heading to Greece after verbally agreeing to join AEK.
Rose is set to sign a one-year deal with Matias Almeyda’s side. However, the deal will have to be done quickly if Rose is to make his debut against Panetolikos on Saturday.
The defender trained with Tottenham over the summer while he was still under contract at Vicarage Road. But it now looks like has secured first-team football for the current campaign.
