Mikael Silvestre is on the verge of making a shock move from Manchester United to Arsenal.
The Gunners are understood to have made a last-ditch attempt to sign the defender last night and are set to purchase the Frenchman for a knock-down fee of £750,000.
Silvestre was expected to complete a move to Manchester City or Sunderland this week and was reportedly in the process of undergoing a medical at Eastlands when he was informed that Arsene Wenger wished to sign him. 'Silvestre immediately abandoned the medical and hurtled down the M1 to meet Gunners boss Wenger and discuss terms,' The Sun claims.
Were Silvestre to join then he would be the first player in 34 years to be sold by Manchester United to their north London rivals. The last player to move directly between the two clubs was Viv Anderson in 1987 when he became Sir Alex Ferguson's first signing.
The proposed move would arguably represent the biggest shock of this summer's transfer activity. While the prospect of Ferguson selling a player, albeit one who has been on the fringes of the United first-team for the past two years, is unexpected, Arsenal fans may be equally surprised to learn that, according to The Guardian, 'Wenger does not regard the former Internazionale defender merely as a squad player, or as a back-up for Gaël Clichy at left-back, but as a first-choice centre-half alongside William Gallas, primarily as a replacement for Philippe Senderos.'
With The Guardian apparently forgetting about Kolo Toure's presence at the Emirates, it is more likely that Wenger intends to use Silvestre as cover at both left-back and centre-half and regards the 31-year-old as adding valuable experience to a generally youthful squad.
In turn, Silvestre's arrival may result in Armand Traore, Clichy's current deputy, leaving the Emirates on loan. Conversely, Silvestre's exit would apparently result in the promotion of 20-year-old Fabio da Silva to the role of Patrice Evra's number two at Manchester United.
Your Comments
lakesgooner
"I disagree, its not a gamble in the slightest to get a player whos capped 40 odd times for France and has won 4 premier league titles, for me in no way shape or form is Silvestre a starting player. He'll cover for Gallas and Toure and hes faaaaaaaaaaaar better than Senderos will ever be and Djourou currently is. "
wengbeliever
"Big gamble....... "
truegoon
"I suppose he could be good back-up, but him and Gallas as first choice? Toure's worth more than Gallas and Silvestre put together!"
porchmonkey
"Re:TANKNDOZER yes Dossena is an improvement on riise and both keane and ngog WILL do better than crouch. I just hope you gunners dont get Alonso. Hes too good to play for Barcelona U21s."
darn7
"I agree with jinx, Silvestre's not in Uniteds plans, and they have youth to bring in, and to be honest it's about time we gave our own youth players a chance Possebon, and the Silva twins are very promising.."
smokeyxx
"he should go to Sunderland"
Chippynumber7
"tank - The debt on Emirates is a bogus issue, the loans are at 5.3% on £300m but the interest is being loaded on rather than being paid off to keep the property and football sides seperate. Last accounts there were £70m cash, £20m profit for 6 months. The people who paid deposits on flats at Highbury Square are now having to stump up the rest and a few have reneged but most are fine. The structure of the deal means the capital can be paid off anytime. From Liverpools perspective I think the stadium financing is going to be the acid test of Hicks and Gilettes commitment as they will find it difficult to raise £200-300m without putting up their own money. Given their history so far and the clamps being put on Rafa over the summer its going to be expensive one way or the other. I think Cesc and Torres are equally vital to their respective teams, and the squads are probably of similar depth, it'll come down to injuries and team spirit I'd guess to seperate us come year end. I think if we got Alonso it would tip it in our favour though. "
Cesc_Bomb
"tankndozer: You are either on a huge wind-up or you are retarded or maybe both. I have already stated that bringing Vela, Nasri & Ramsey in has improved our squad. I have also made the point that we should benefit from the likes of Van Persie & Song, who were missing for most of last season. We have strengthened in our attack and if this Silvestre deal goes through we will have strengthened in defence also. We still need a defensive midfielder but hopefully he's on his way. As for your team - can you really tell me that Dossena is an improvement on Riise or Keane or Ngog will do better than Crouch?"
jinx
"henaz999 if ferdinand and vidic did get injured do u know silvestre is not 1st or 2nd choice to replace them he's never on the subs bench anymore so whats your point? sell him and let the young one's get experience."
tankndozer
"smudger21: Totally agree. It's simply a signing for steadying the boat, no step forward but preventing a step back. pete_safc: Wenger has made a point himself that arsenal are operating at (I forget exactly how much) but about £15m loss taking only the stadium finances into acount. It'll take a good 20 years till you're all clear (albeit having made a great, great profit off of Highbury Square once it's completed, plus a great cash flow going forward). inarsenewetrust/Cesc_Bomb: you love to give out about how Liverpool fans go on about history- You're only ones bringing it up. oh and Cesc: "I think I've more than covered the depth of Arsenals squad". HILARIOUS! I said you have a good squad. I just said it's no better than last year and you've yet to even try to argue any of my points. Simply resorted to "history". You've really brightened up my day though! If resorting to changing the subject and b***hing is all it takes to be a football supporter these days then I may still be able to convert my girlfriend yet! Thanks for giving us all hope man. :-)"
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