Manchester United set to battle Manchester City by making first move for £20m Arsenal star Samir Nasri

French midfielder has just one year left on his contract and has offers from both Manchester clubs as Arsene Wenger struggles to hold on to his stars at the Emirates

Jul 1, 2011 9:07:00 AM

Manchester United will make the first move for Arsenal starSamir Nasri with a £20 (€22) million bid as rivals Manchester City also prepare a swoop for the midfielder.

City manager Roberto Mancini is on the verge of sealing a £7m (€7.7m) deal for Gunners defender Gael Clichy and is ready to move for his team-mate Nasri if he misses out on Udinese winger Alexis Sanchez, who has recently reiterated his desire to sign for Barcelona.

United, however, are confident of landing the 24-year-old Frenchman, who has just one year left on his contract, despite Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's insistence last month that Nasri would not be sold to the Old Trafford club.

Ferguson will make a £20m (€22m) bid in the coming days to tempt Arsenal into selling a player who could leave on a free transfer at the end of the season, and the United chief is willing to go up to £25m (€27.7m) to add some much-needed creativity to his midfield.

Arsenal have offered Nasri a five-year deal worth £90,000-a-week (€100,000) but United are willing to hand him the £110,000 (€122,000) weekly salary he has been demanding from Emirates executives. Both offers pale in comparison to the £180,000-a-week (€200,000) City will put on the table if they make Nasri their top target.

It leaves Arsenal facing an anxious few weeks as key first-team players leave the club, with Clichy close to departing and captain Cesc Fabregas edging towards a €40m move to Spanish giants Barcelona.

Arsenal are likely to strongly resist any moves for Nasri but both Manchester clubs believe the Londoners could feel they have to sell because of the financial reality of the situation.

Nasri, who cost the Gunners £12m (€13.2m) in the summer of 2008, left himself open to a move to Old Trafford last month when United's interest first emerged following talks between third parties linked to United and the player.

“Do I want to go to United? We should see if their interest is real and if it is concrete first,” Nasri said.

United have turned their attentions to the France international as they believe Tottenham will refuse to sell playmaker Luka Modric while Wesley Sneijder's £170,000-a-week (€190,000) salary is a massive stumbling block in any move for the Inter star.

Ferguson has already spent in excess of £50m (€55m) this season after signing Phil Jones, Ashley Young and David de Gea but is targeting one more player – a creative midfielder – this summer.

Old Trafford

Old Trafford is an all-seater football stadium in the Trafford borough of Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Premier League club Manchester United. With space for 75,957 spectators, Old Trafford has the second-largest capacity of any English football stadium after Wembley Stadium, the third-largest of any stadium in the United Kingdom, and the eleventh-largest in Europe. The stadium is approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from Old Trafford Cricket Ground and the adjacent Manchester Metrolink tram station.

The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Dreams by Bobby Charlton, has been United's permanent residence since 1910, with the exception of an eight-year absence from 1941 to 1949, following the bombing of the stadium in the Second World War. During this period, the club shared Maine Road with local rivals, Manchester City. The ground underwent several expansions in the 1990s and 2000s, most notably the addition of extra tiers to the North, West and East stands which served to return the ground almost to its original capacity of 80,000. Future expansion is likely to involve the addition of a second tier to the South Stand, which would raise the capacity to over 90,000. The stadium's current record attendance was recorded in 1939, when 76,962 spectators watched the FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town.

The ground has frequently hosted FA Cup semi-final matches as a neutral venue and several England international fixtures while the new Wembley Stadium was under construction. It also hosted matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996, as well as the 2003 UEFA Champions League Final. Aside from football-related uses, Old Trafford has hosted rugby league's Super League Grand Final since the league's adoption of playoffs in 1998 and the final of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.

Neville tips Jones for the top

Gary Neville is convinced Phil Jones has what it takes to be a future Manchester United captain.

The young defender will officially become a Red on Friday 1 July and Neville, a veteran of 602 appearances over 19 seasons, believes Jones has a long career ahead of him at Old Trafford.

“I think this lad’s going to be a star, I really do,” Neville told The New Paper in Singapore.

“I think he’s going to be somebody who could potentially be a captain of Manchester United in the future. He looks really solid and he’s somebody who can be a huge player for the club for the next 10 years.”

Jones caught the eye with a string of top performances for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League over the last two seasons and has also shone for England at Under-21 level.

“There’s a lot of potential there and the performances he’s put in over the last two years have been outstanding, particularly against us,” Neville said. “For a 19-year-old that’s excellent. He’s a great signing for us.”

Jones was the first of United’s three summer signings so far, with the club also agreeing deals with Aston Villa for Ashley Young and Atletico Madrid for David de Gea.

Neville isn’t convinced the spending will stop there, though. He told The New Paper that he’s expecting at least one more signing.

“I think the manager will sign a central midfielder because of Owen Hargreaves leaving and Paul Scholes retiring,” he said.