Manchester United And Arsenal Negotiating Robin Van Persie Transfer.
Robin van Persie’s potential transfer to Manchester United from Arsenal edged closer on Tuesday after it was revealed the two clubs had re-opened negotiations.
According to a series of reports in Wednesday morning’s newspapers, United could finalise a deal to bring the Dutchman to Old Trafford before their opening match of the new Premier League season against Everton next Monday.
The deal could include several add-ons since United are reportedly reluctant to spend their most extravagant fee up front since the £30.75m capture of Dimitar Berbatov.
Since Berbatov was signed in 2008, United have embarked on a transfer policy of buying players under the age of 26. Anders Lindegaard, at 26, has been their eldest signing since then, excluding the 2009 free transfer of perennial crock Michael Owen, then aged 29.
Arsenal face Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, and are now seemingly resigned to the sensibility of selling the PFA Player of the Year for a substantial fee rather than allowing him to leave on a free next summer.
Van Persie was booed by the pocket of Arsenal supporters when he played the final 20 minutes of their 4-0 friendly defeat of Cologne at the weekend. Lukas Podolski, who scored twice, was the subject of the “He scores when he wants…” chant Gunners fans adopted for Van Persie last season.
Last year’s top scorer is currently on international duty with Holland ahead of their Wednesday night friendly with Belgium, but should he complete his move to United he will become the first player to move from the red half of north London to M16 since Viv Anderson, Sir Alex Ferguson’s first signing for the Red Devils way back in 1987.
The last player to be transferred between the two clubs was Mikael Silvestre in 2008, who stayed with Arsène Wenger’s side for two seasons .
Manchester United will hold firm on their valuation of Robin van Persie but remain convinced the player will join them before the transfer window closes at the end of this month.
Arsenal’s insistence on placing a £30m price tag on the 29-year-old Dutch forward has so far stopped any deal taking place. A phone call from Alex Ferguson to Arsène Wenger has helped the situation, but it will not lead to a significant increase in the price United are prepared to pay.
Instead, Ferguson and United will hold firm and offer around the £20m mark that they believe will be enough to land such a key figure from one of their rivals. Van Persie has 12 months remaining on his contract at the Emirates and the possibility remains that he could see out the next six months and then sign a pre-contract with either Manchester United or Juventus, who retain an interest.
However, Ferguson is eager to do the transfer now and hopes that a deal can be concluded before his side begin their Premier League campaign against Everton on Monday evening.
Van Persie’s profile does not hold with Manchester United’s transfer policy in recent years. They moved closer to completing the signing of the 18-year-old Mexican forward Angelo Henriquez yesterday for a fee in the region of £4m. The Universidad de Chile forward, who scored 11 goals in 2012, underwent a medical in Manchester ahead of his proposed move to Old Trafford.
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BRIAN IZZY