Football transfer rumours: Marouane Fellaini to Arsenal?

Today’s fluff is in discord and rhyme

Real Betis “believe they are close to pulling off a massive coup”, according to the Mirror. In these days of military takeovers of African quasi-dictatorships you might think that football gossipmongers might have temporarily scaled back on their use of the word “coup”, but no. Here it is in black and white, and being used to describe the future planning of a certain Jack Wilshere. The player, whose contract at Arsenal ends next summer, is apparently “open to moving to La Liga”, the only question being whether Betis “push for a cut-price deal in January”, “convince him to sign a pre-contract in January” or, in fact, fail to sign him altogether.

But who would replace Wilshere in Arsenal’s midfield/bench/stands should he leave? One improbable answer could be Marouane Fellaini, who “has rejected a new contract offer and is set to quit Manchester United on a free transfer at the end of the season”, according to the Express. They say that Internazionale, Besiktas and indeed Arsenal all want to add the Belgian’s sharp-elbowed skills to their ranks, but United will not consider selling the midfielder in January, preferring to keep him just as long as they can. The Mirror suggest this might be longer than first advertised, with the club “working on a compromise deal” and José Mourinho having “not given up hope of persuading him to stay at Old Trafford”, but then they also say he might end up in Valencia as part-payment for the 20-year-old midfield wonderkid Carlos Soler.

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