Gunners are looking to take the Real Madrid striker on loan then buy in the summer rather than pay over the odds for a permanent signing this month
Arsene Wenger has made a move for Real Madrid starlet Alvaro Morata to provide Arsenal with emergency cover.
Wenger is on red-alert to make a January signing after Theo Walcott’s devastating injury blow , which rules him out for the rest of the domestic season and the World Cup.
The Gunners’ manager would rather do a stop-gap loan deal, because he fears
he will not be able to get any of his main, permanent-signing targets until the summer.
Spain Under-21 star Morata fits the bill as a loan could give him regular games, but the Premier League-leading Londoners still face a battle to persuade Real to farm him out.
Arsenal are also keeping tabs on Barcelona’s Spanish midfielder Pedro, and
would move for him given any encouragement.
Wenger fully intends to make a big-money move for a striker in the summer
and has an extensive shopping list which includes Bayern Munich’s Mario Mandzukic, Edin Dzeko of Manchester City and Porto’s Jackson Martinez.
Arsenal are also watching developments with Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa and
Wayne Rooney of Manchester United, although there is a growing feeling that if the latter moves in the summer it will be to Chelsea.
There’s also big Arsenal interest in Schalke’s attacking midfielder Julian Draxler. He would not be available until the summer either, but they are prepared to wait for him.
It all means that Wenger may have to settle for a temporary deal and wait for his big targets in the summer rather than compromise and commit to an over-priced transfer in January.
He has instructed scouts and agents to be on the look-out, but there is a feeling at the club that Serge Gnabry and fit-again Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can cover for Walcott, while No.1 striker Olivier Giroud is fit to play at Aston Villa next Monday.
Giroud’s back-up Nicklas Bendtner also hopes to be back from his ankle injury in a month.
The other option is the Russian market.
Arsenal are exploring whether there are players at cash-strapped clubs they could sign for a loan fee and their wages. They have looked at Rubin Kazan’s Salomon Rondon in the past, but could face competition for his signature from Tottenham this month.
Monaco striker Lacina Traore – who has just joined them from hard-up Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala – has been offered around the Premier League, with struggling West Ham keen.
But it would appear that unless Wenger can do a short term loan or get one of his priority targets, he will wait until the summer.
It is a major gamble as to whether Arsenal have enough cover in the squad, but it seems certain that while Wenger is prepared to break the bank again – he will only do so for the right player, and that opportunity may not arise this month.