Well this is a turn up for the books, after what seems like months of wrangling between Aston Villa and Liverpool over Gareth Barry, Arsene Wenger has, according to Shaun Custis of The Sun, popped up with an enquiry!
In the usual ‘Sun speak’ they say Arsenal have made a ‘sensational 11th-hour move to hijack’ the move of the Villa skipper to Anfield and claim that Liverpool were ‘locked in high-level talks’ yesterday negotiating the price.
The Sun claim that the Gunners haven’t bid yet but would be able to offer cash and a player like Justin Hoyte who has been linked to Villa for some while now.
The report repeats what we all seem to know now, or at least what the press have told us all along, Villa have set their price at £18million but Liverpool want to pay £15million plus add-ons. If Arsenal bought him for the full fee he would be their record signing.
Personally I’d still like him to stay at Villa, unsanctioned interview or not, but can’t make up my mind if that is likely or not if he isn’t being allowed to train with the rest of the team! I’ve not seen any updates as to whether his ban from training remains or if that has now been lifted, would be a dodgy policy to let him get too unfit if we want top dollar for him surely!??!? Certainly with the limbo over the Liverpool situation, it looks like Barry’s main hope is another top four team come in with the full asking price and as a London boy, albeit a boy-hood Spurs fan, maybe Arsenal will give him the escape route and Champions League football he seems to desire.
If he does earn us £18million after 10 years of sterling service, I must say we’d have got a good deal out of the Brighton & Hove Albion purchase!
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