Desperation For Gonzalo Higuain Behind The Smokescreen Of Luis Suarez Bid

The reported Arsenal FC bid for Liverpool FC striker Luis Suarez made their desperation for Gonzalo Higuain apparent to Real Madrid, but the Spanish giants don’t hold all the aces as well.

It is almost beyond belief that we are only into the second week of the official transfer window, after all the drama, rumours and signings that has been experienced. Nearly all the top strikers in Europe have already been on the move or are expected to be this summer. Falcao has joined Monaco, Cavani is set to complete his move to Paris, Lewandowski is facing an uncertain future (but is expected to stay this season), Mario Gomez has joined Fiorentina, Tevez and Llorente have signed for Juventus, David Villa completed his move to Atletico Madrid last night ai??i?? the annual strikerai??i??s merry go round. But this merry go round is far from over as three high profile names are still in the market ai??i?? Wayne Rooney, Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez ai??i?? and in a way the future of these three names are interlinked.

Higuain was expected to be Arsenalai??i??s first big name signing this summer as Arsene Wenger looks to rebuild the squad and challenge for titles next season to end their drought. The club is in excellent financial condition after years of austerity and the board has finally backed Wenger with big budget to compete with the big boys. While initially Higuainai??i??s transfer looked like a formality, with the striker wanting to leave and Real Madrid expected to sign one of Cavani or Suarez, but of late some complications have been raised.

According recent reports, Real Madrid have asked Arsenal to increase their initial offer of ai??i??25m, while Carlo Ancelotti hopes to convince Higuain to stay back. In extraordinary turn of events, Arsenal have had a bid of A?30m turned down by Liverpool, expectedly one might add, and there are a lot of speculations regarding the motive behind such an offer. But this has led to an interesting situation with regard to the three clubs – Arsenal, Liverpool and Real Madrid, involved in this transfer saga. We take a look at this situation from each clubai??i??s point of view.

Arsenal are making their desperation apparent to Real Madrid

There is no place for any excuse this summer ai??i?? at least financially. The club is expected to make at least two big name signings and one of which is essentially a striker. The Gunners were initially linked with both Jovetic and Higuain, but the Fiorentina forward is expected to sign for Juventus. Higuain still remains their prime target this summer, despite the hiccups. Now it is matter of whether the club is determined enough to sign him, even if that means over paying than how much they value him at. But the fact is, although Arsenal might have money to spend this summer, they canai??i??t afford a mistake, as Arsene Wenger had pointed out earlier. Unlike Chelsea or Manchester City, they do not enjoy the luxury to be reckless in the transfer market ai??i?? Arsenal need to be prudent, which they will be under Wengerai??i??s guidance. So it all comes down to the question whether it is worth it, paying the extra A?5-10 million for the Argentine international. But perhaps the most important question is ai??i?? do Arsenal have a back-up option in the market if they pull out of the Higuain deal? One can assume that the answer to the last question is certainly not Luis Suarez.

The Uruguayan international is one of the best forwards in the world currently, and certainly a better footballer than Higuain, but Arsenalai??i??s bid for him was nothing but a negotiating tactics, albeit an unconvincing one. Suarez is looking to leave Liverpool, but most importantly, he is looking to leave England. After insisting that the treatment he has received from the English media is the prime reason behind him willing to depart from Anfield, he is not in a position to accept a move to another English club and more significantly, Liverpool are in a position to deny him that opportunity. Moreover Arsenalai??i??s reported A?30m is well under his current valuation, hence it is unwise to think that the London club expected Liverpool to accept it. They knew all along it will be rejected, and all they wanted was this news to reach Madrid that they are looking at other options ai??i?? even at players whom Madrid are being linked with. But if the Suarez bid was a means to send out a message to Real Madrid, it is unlikely that it will work. Arsenal might bid for a Real Madrid transfer target, but the Spanish club have the financial capability to blow them out of the water if they want to. Moreover it also became apparent that Arsenal are ready to shell out A?30m for a striker, which will only encourage Florentino Perez to stand by their ground. So Arsenal fell well short of whatever they wanted to achieve through this Suarez bid ai??i?? they were nowhere close to landing him or intimidating Real Madrid in lowering their demands for Higuain.

The problem for Arsenal lies in the fact that they have very few options to fall back upon if they donai??i??t get Higuain. The Gunners need a world class forward, and other than Higuain and Suarez, Rooney remains the only other possible option in that quota. The Gunnersai??i?? initial enquiry about the Manchester United striker was rebuffed, according to reports. But his future at Old Trafford still remains showed in speculations, despite David Moyes insisting that the striker wonai??i??t be sold. But like Liverpool, United will prefer to deal with a non-English club if eventually Rooney pushes for a move. So it could be Higuain or nothing for the Gunners this summer.

Liverpool are on a high ground

The Merseyside club are in far better position to deal with Suarezai??i??s transfer saga then they were at the start of the summer. Brendan Rodgers has already conducted some shrewd piece of business and has strengthened nearly every department of the squad. Suarez might have expressed his desire to leave for Madrid in recent interviews, but the player or his agent are yet to convey their wish directly to the club. The Uruguayan international has a long contract with Liverpool, so the Merseyside club are in a position to play hardball. But the question remains whether they have enough quality in the squad to replace someone like Suarez? The answer to that is – No, Suarez is head and shoulders above any other forwards they have in their ranks. So Liverpool will have to invest the money earned through Suarezai??i??s transfer, if and when it happens, into the squad.

But even if they earn anything close to the A?50m they value Suarez at, who could be his possible replacement? For Liverpool it will be harder to sign a big name striker due to the lack of Champions League football next season. Moreover, there are very few strikers in the world who are capable of replacing Suarez and are available in the transfer market. So Brendan Rodgers will have to settle for the second best and invest this money in buying a midfielder (after missing out on Henrikh Mkhitaryan) and a defender. Both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have been linked with him, but Bayernai??i??s interest seemed to have faded with time, while Real Madridai??i??s pursuit for him might now depend on Higuainai??i??s future at the club.

Real Madrid don’t hold all the aces

It might seem like the Spanish club holds all the aces at the moment, but they have some dependencies as well. Florentino Perez is expected to make at least one big name signing this summer ai??i?? and yes, Isco was not the one. Madrid might come across as a club with unlimited cash to burn, but in truth they need to sell in order to finance their move for Bale or Suarez, or even both. They have already missed out on Falcao and Cavani, while Rooney remains another possible option. Reports suggest that Carlo Ancelotti wants to retain Higuain and is expected to convince him to stay in a meeting scheduled for Monday. If Higuain stays, they are unlikely to make a move for Suarez this summer, but AS reports that Higuain wants to complete his move to Arsenal even before that.

Real Madridai??i??s advantage lies in Arsenalai??i??s apparent desperation for striker and the unavailability of other options. But they are also aware of the fact that Arsenal are the only club who are really interested in the signing the Argentine international and no other club will be willing to pay that much for him at the moment. So if Ancelotti is unable to convince Higuain to stay, there is no point in retaining a player on such high wage, hence they will be forced to negotiate with Arsenal.

In a way it will be a strange summer for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. It is almost ironical to think, Florentino Perez sitting across the negotiation table and trying to squeeze out that extra few pounds from a transfer deal that the Gunners are so desperate to complete ai??i?? in the past few seasons one could imagine Arsene Wenger doing a similar job, while facing officials from Barcelona, Manchester United or even Manchester City.

Tags: Arsenal FC Liverpool FC Real Madrid

Desperation For Higuain Behind The Smokescreen Of Suarez Bid

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