Arsenal are ready to make an offer for Feyenoord youngster Jordi Clasie, who has been dubbed as the "next Xavi."
The Gunners are expected to spend quite a bit of money in the summer transfer window as Arsene Wenger looks to revamp his squad for next season, following another underwhelming one where the team have not challenged for honors.
While the midfield is actually quite strong, apart from a purely defensive midfielder of course, Wenger is always in the market for a talented youngster, and after some of the performances put in by the 21-year-old Clasie this season, Arsenal will do well to seal the deal for the Dutch international.
Clasie is someone who likes to pick out passes from deep while also reading the game well, which is why he has been compared to Barcelona maestro Xavi.
According to reports in the Dutch press, Wenger is keen on the youngster and is ready to make a bid in the summer, but the Arsenal manager will have to fight off competition from the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham, Juventus and Fiorentina, with the latter already making an offer.
"We do not need to sell him, nor do we particularly want to, but we have to think of the player's ambitions and evaluate the offers from other clubs," Feyenoord technical director Martin Van Geel said.
"There is an offer from Fiorentina, but we'll only discuss it at the end of the season. Right now the players must focus only on Feyenoord."
Meanwhile, there have been contrasting reports emerge about the future of Andrei Arshavin. The Russian has been very much in the periphery this season at Arsenal, hardly getting a game, and more often than not failing to even get into the matchday squad.
The 31-year-old's contract expires in the summer and Arsenal are not interested in offering a new deal. The Russian is settled in London and is reportedly reluctant to leave England.
Arshavin has yet to receive an offer from a club in Europe or in the English Premier League and therefore is considering retiring from the sport, according to the Evening Standard.
However, Russian daily Sport Express claim Arshavin has no plans to quit and will evaluate his options at the end of the season before deciding on his next move, with offers from Australia and Azerbaijan reportedly being considered.
