Arsenal Transfer News: £25.5 Million Bid To Secure Gonzalo Higuain?

Higuain Arsenal are ready to blow Juventus out of the water to win the race for Gonzalo Higuain by making a £25.5 million offer for the Real Madrid striker, according to the Metro. Spanish sources claim Arsene Wenger's side are prepared to stump up a lump sum payment - which is £6.8 million more than that currently being offered by the Italian giants. Juventus are also said to be keen on splitting the fee for the star into five installments, which is clearly a far less attractive proposition for Real. And that would seem to put the North London outfit in the driving seat as Wenger appears to be zeroing in on his first summer signing. The veteran French manager has £70 million to spend this summer and has made bringing in a top class striker one of his first priorities, but he may have to wait until Madrid have announced their new manager before any deal can be completed. Paris Saint-Germain manager Carlo Ancelotti is expected to be announced as Jose Mourinho's successor in the coming weeks and while the want-away Argentinian striker, 25, has made his desire to leave quite apparent, the club's hierarchy want the new man to have some say in the move. Madrid are under no pressure to sell this summer with Higuain's contract not set to expire until 2016, and club president Florentino Perez has previously warned Arsenal and Juventus that they'd have to bid in excess of £25.5 million in order to land the South American. "With £25.5m it€™s better that they don€™t come," the controversial outspoken president said.
"Let€™s see if people ask us for £50 million for everyone and we sell one of ours for half that."
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Contributor

Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.