Baptista possibility for Arsenal
Arsenal are weighing up whether to make an offer to Seville for Julio Baptista as they line up their second potential major deal of the summer.
The Gunners’ initial inquiry, reported to have been around £6m (€9m) with a further £2m (€3m) based on appearances, is said to have been rejected by the Spanish club.
Owever, while Seville are holding out for an improved offer of possibly up to £10m (€15m), it appears likely they would be willing to reach an agreement.
President Jose Maria del Nido has conceded that all attempts to persuade the 23-year-old Brazil forward – who has scored 38 goals in the past two seasons in La Liga – to stay at Seville have failed.
Del Nido admitted: “The player doesn’t want to renew his contract with us even though we have offered him a quantity of money which triples what he is earning with us now.
“The fact is that the player and his agent are saying things that have nothing in common with what they were saying previously. The player doesn’t want to renew his contract and we can’t cover our eyes to the fact.”
Del Nido was also quoted as describing Arsenal’s initial offer as “derisory“, but relations between the clubs are good after Jose Antonio Reyes’ move to Highbury 18 months ago.
Arsenal can only hope another club do not enter the bidding, therefore forcing up the price, with the Gunners having already agreed a deal worth up to £10m (€15m) with Stuttgart for Belarus international Aleksander Hleb, who is still awaiting a work permit.
Baptista would also have to similarly convince the authorities of his credentials, but manager Arsene Wenger is still hoping to secure the two “world-class” signings he was looking for this summer.
