admindisposal but that figure also has to cover the wages of new players, with Dortmund’s 20-year-old attacking midfielder the prime target. Gotze has a £30m buyout clause which would allow him to leave if a club make a bid to that value — and Arsenal are ready to do so.
Wenger is also considering a £10m move for Toulouse midfielder Etienne Capoue and he wants to sign a keeper, with Liverpool’s Pepe Reina the strongest candidate.
The expected outlay marks a huge departure of policy for Arsenal, but Wenger will continue to promote youngsters. Gedion Zelalem, a 16-year-old German with an Ethiopian father, has been training with the first team and is expected to be promoted to the squad next season. Hector Bellerin, an 18-year-old right-back from Barcelona, and Serge Gnabry, a 17-year-old midfielder from Stuttgart, are also likely to be fast-tracked.
But it is Zelalem, discovered playing high school football in the USA, who will attract most attention as he is likely to emulate Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere by making his debut in the Capital One Cup team next season. Zelalem was not even attached to a professional side when he was spotted by Arsenal’s US scout, Danny Karbassiyoon, but plays in the same position as Wilshere and Fabregas.
His father — Zelalem Woldyes — was granted asylum in Germany, where his son was born.
Though the youngster was enrolled in Hertha Berlin’s youth programme, the family moved to Washington DC in 2006, where he was playing for Walter Johnson High School when he came to Arsenal’s attention. —Mailonline.
Online Reporter