Arsenal transfer news: Arsene Wenger set to press on with move for goalkeeper David Ospina after £3.2m move 'agreed' - despite Iker Casillas desire to join
Wenger needs to sign another goalkeeper after Lukasz Fabianski left the club, with a move for Colombian Ospina reported to be near completion
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal’s pursuit of Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina has not been derailed by Iker Casillas’ reported admission that he wants to join the Gunners after it was claimed a £3.2m deal for the Nice stopper has been agreed.
Ospina starred in the World Cup as Colombia comfortably progressed from Group C in Brazil, with the hosts eliminating their South American rivals in the quarter-finals.
25-year0old Ospina is reported to have already turned down an offer to join Spanish side Valencia, and Arsene Wenger is believed to favour the goalkeeper to provide competition for current number one Wojciech Szczesny, according to the Daily Mail.
The news comes after Casillas was reported by Spanish newspaper EL Confidencial to have asked Real Madrid to terminate his contract early, paving the way to a move to North London.
Casillas has been a stalwart of Real’s side since his debut in 1999, helping to land ‘La Decima’ last season as he featured in Real’s tenth Champions League success. But his fall down the pecking order under first Jose Mourinho and now Carlo Ancelotti has seen Diego Lopez take the number one spot for La Liga matches, and the 33-year-old is believed to be frustrated with how his Real career is playing out.
He also endured a miserable World Cup campaign, conceding five goals in the opening defeat to the Netherlands and seeing two go past him in the defeat to Chile that saw the reigning champions eliminated before they’d played their final group game.
With Lukasz Fabianski joining Swansea on a free transfer and Wenger choosing not to keep Emiliano Viviano after his season-long loan ended, Arsenal need a goalkeeper to provide back-up for Szczesny, who could also do with the competition of a top level player given that he was largely inconsistent during the second half of last season.
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