Manchester United make breakthrough in talks to sign Van Persie from Arsenal
The clubs held talks on Tuesday night and the Old Trafford side are
now set to make an improved bid as they look to reach an agreement with
the Gunners, who want at least £20m
Arsenal want at least £20 million for their
captain but United have until now been reluctant to offer more than £15m
for a player who is 29 and has just one year remaining on his contract.
The new offer is likely to be close to
Arsenal’s asking price once add-ons are included as the two clubs
attempt to reach an agreement and draw a conclusion to the summer saga.
United
are firmly in pole position to sign Van Persie and could even complete a
move for the Dutch striker before their Premier League opener against
Everton next Monday.
Goal.com revealed last week that the demand of Van Persie's agent, Kees Vos, for a £4m cut in the deal has threatened to scupper his chances of a move to Old Trafford.
Manchester
City had previously been favourites to land last season's double player
of the year but have put their interest on hold due to the finances
involved and their difficulty in selling Emmanuel Adebayor, Edin Dzeko
and Roque Santa Cruz.
Juventus are also out of the running for
the former Feyenoord man, leaving United with a clear run despite
Arsenal's reluctance to sell their star player to a Premier League
rival.
The Gunners, however, appear to have concluded that they
would rather sell Van Persie than keep an unhappy player in the squad
who can leave on a free transfer next summer.
Van Persie, who is currently in Belgium on
international duty with the Netherlands squad, has publicly announced
that he will not sign a new Arsenal contract.
Sir Alex Ferguson
was unsure when asked last week about United’s chances of landing the
man who was the Premier League's top scorer last term with 30 goals.
"We
have made a bid and they've [Arsenal] been trying to negotiate with
other clubs," said Ferguson. "I don't have a gut feeling on it at the
moment, I must admit.
"We're not getting any breakthrough with
Arsenal. It's difficult to say why they're operating this way. I don't
know what their thoughts are, because they're not giving anything away."
But
Van Persie now looks likely to complete a switch to Old Trafford where
he will join new signings Nick Powell, Shinji Kagawa and Angelo
Henriquez, who will complete a £4m move to the club after undergoing a
medical.
Source : Goal.com
