Arsenal have been told by Real Madrid they must pay £22m to sign striker Gonzalo Higuain, who is free to leave the Spanish side in the summer.

Reports have suggested that Arsenal were ready to wrap up a deal around £18m, but have been told by Real that they need to pay a little more to capture the Argentinean.

Arsenal’s pursuit of Stevan Jovetic seems to have cooled recently, with suggestions that he could be set to move to Juventus instead. Juventus have been awfully evasive regarding their interest in the Montenegrin of late.

Marotta

When quizzed about Jovetic, Juventus’s director of football Beppe Marotta suggested his agent was speaking to Juventus, without the club necessarily wishing him to:

“Jovetic too is a great, but there are no negotiations. If a player is offered to us by an agent, it doesn’t mean that there are talks going on.”

So, there are certainly negotiations on personal terms between the sides, but whether Marotta is lying about not speaking to Fiorentina is another question.

We know Jovetic is happy to stay in Italy for another few years, so it could be the case that his agent is sounding out potential deals to force Fiorentina’s hand in improving his contract.

Replacement

Arsenal’s interest in Higuain is fairly new, suggesting they’ve had to look elsewhere after a hitch with Jovetic. They’re battling Juventus for him as well, so I imagine of the two, one will go to one club while the other goes to, well, the other.

Arsenal are renowned for not being open to negotiation, so the new demand from Real could see Higuain go elsewhere. Let’s hope not-either of the two would improve Arsenal’s attack immeasurably.

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