The West Ham United midfielder Scott Parker is a key target for Arsène Wenger this summer, with the Arsenal manager finally prepared to break his self-imposed restriction on signing older players to long-term contracts.
Parker, 30, will be sold this summer as West Ham, who were relegated to the Championship on Sunday, divest themselves of their highest-earners. While Wenger has a policy of not buying players in their thirties apart from exceptional short-term signings, he is understood to be given to reconsidering after another season in which his squad's lack of experience was telling.
Parker, 30, will be sold this summer as West Ham, who were relegated to the Championship on Sunday, divest themselves of their highest-earners. While Wenger has a policy of not buying players in their thirties apart from exceptional short-term signings, he is understood to be given to reconsidering after another season in which his squad's lack of experience was telling.
Parker, who was voted player of the year by the Football Writers' Association this season, lives in Surrey and would be amenable to a move to Arsenal. He is expected to be sold for around £6m and would want a three-year contract at the very least, given that his current West Ham deal has three years to run.
Among Wenger's current group of midfielders, he is expected to sanction the sale of Denilson and Tomas Rosicky this summer. Ideally, Parker would play alongside Jack Wilshere in midfield, reprising their successful partnership for England against Wales in March's Euro 2012 qualifier. Interestingly, it would appear that Cesc Fabregas's much-anticipated move to Barcelona is by no means a certainty, with the Spanish champions exerting nothing like the interest they did last summer.
