Atletico Madrid are looking to strike a deal with Arsenal for their teenage midfielder Fran Merida. Merida faces an uncertain future at Arsenal and his contract expires at the end of the season. Merida is one of the hottest youngsters in Europe and Atletico face a lot of competition for the former Barcelona trainee.
Merida’s representative Joseba Diaz has refuted claims of any deal being struck between the two parties. Rumours of a five-year deal had surfaced in local newspapers, but Diaz shot them down by insisting that they were still looking at the possibility of extending his contract with Arsenal. The Spanish star has played at every junior level for Spain but has made only three appearances for Arsenal during his career without scoring a goal. He spent 2008 on loan at Real Sociedad making 14 appearances for the club and scored once.
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo has confirmed that his club would be actively looking to hire the services of Merida. “Of course we are interested, he is one of the best young players in Europe. But just as we are thinking of it many other teams in Europe will be thinking the same,” he said.
Even Arsene Wenger has bad vibes about the situation. He sounds resigned to lose Merida. “We made him an offer but he could never finalise it for different reasons. He is at the stage where he wants
to play and he needs to play. I don’t know if he has signed somewhere else. I am a bit disappointed if he has,” Wenger said.
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